Rl     ■rmC!-!' 


CK    BALL  I  STEINS 


THE  LIBRARY  OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF 

NORTH  CAROLINA 


THE  COLLECTION  OF 
NORTH  CAROLINIANA 


C8\3 
C.2* 


This  BOOK  may  be  kept  out  TWO  WEEKS 
ONLY,  and  is  subject  to  a  fine  of  FIVE 
CENTS  a  day  thereafter.  It  is  DUE  on  the 
DAY  indicated  below: 


JACK  BALLISTER'S  FORTUNES 


SPEAK   UP,    BOY,    SPEAK   UP,'   SAID   THE   GENTLEMAN."     (SKE   PAUK   L»U.) 


THE  STORY  OF 
JACK  BALLISTER  S  FORTUNES 


BY 

HOWARD  PYLE 


BEING  THE  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  ADVENTURES 
OP  A  YOUNG  GENTLEMAN  OF  GOOD  FAM- 
ILY, WHO  WAS  KIDNAPPED  IN  THE  YEAR  1719 
AND  CARRIED  TO  THE  PLANTATIONS  OF  THE 
CONTINENT  OF  VIRGINIA,  WHERE  HE  FELL 
IN  WITH  THAT  FAMOUS  PIRATE  CAPTAIN 
EDWARD  TEACH,  OR  BLACKBEARD :  OF  HIS 
ESCAPE  FROM  THE  PIRATES  AND  THE  RESCUE 
OF  A  YOUNG  LADY  FROM  OUT  THEIR  HANDS 


NEW  YORK 
THE  CENTURY  CO. 

1895 


Copyright.  1894.  189,5,  by 
Thk  Century  Co. 


The  de  vinne  press. 


CONTENTS 


Chapter  Page 

I  The  America  Merchant 5 

II  Jack  Ballister 9 

III  Jack  and  his  Uncle 26 

IV  Captain  Butts 31 

V  Kidnapped  38 

VI  Aboard  the  Arundel 43 

VII  Across  the  Ocean 47 

VIII  To  the  End  of  the  Voyage 57 

IX  In  Virginia  65 

X  Into  Bondage    77 

XI  Marlborough 85 

XII  Down  the  River 92 

XIII  The  Roost 97 

XIV  In  England 102 

XV  Life  at  the  Roost 109 

XVI  Jack's  Master  in  the  Toils 116 

XVII  Jack  Rides  on  a  Mission 124 

XVIII  Miss  Eleanor  Parker 130 

XIX  The  Visitor  Again 135 

XX  The  Wild   Turkey 146 

XXI  The  Struggle 154 

XXII  The  Escape  161 

XXIII  A  Meeting  168 

XXIV  At  Marlborough 179 

XXV  In  Captrtity 190 

XXVI  The  Pirate's  Lair 198 

XXVII  At  Bath  Town 203 

vii 


viii  CONTENTS 

Chapter  Page 

XXVIII  In  North  Carolina  —  In  Virginia 211 

XXIX  An  Expedition 221 

XXX  The  Attempt 229 

XXXI  The  Return 237 

XXXII  A  Scene 243 

XXXIII  How  Jack  resolved 253 

XXXIV  The  Escape 265 

XXXV  The  BEGmNiNG  of  the  Voyage 272 

XXXVI  A  Stop  over  Night 280 

XXXVII  The  Second  Day 287 

XXXVIII  The  Third   Day 296 

XXXIX  The  Fourth  Day 305 

XL  Fiat  Justitia 319 

XLI  The  Boat  Adrift 327 

XLII  The  Next  Day 336 

XLIII         The  Eeturn 346 

XLIV        Rising  Fortunes 353 

XLV  Preparation 362 

XL VI         The  Fight 373 

XL VII       In  the  New  Life 385 

XL  VIII     Jack  meets  some  Old  Friends 391 

XLIX         The  Departure  404 

L  The  Return 412 


LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS 


"'Speak  up,  Boy,  speak  up,'  said  the  Gentleman"  Frontispiece 

FACING  PAGE 

" '  He  'll  come  to  by  and  by  ;  he  's  only  stunned  a  Trifle,' 
SAID  THE  Captain 42 

" '  Now,  THEN,  Gentlemen,  how  much  do  you  bid  for  this 
Boy  ? '  SAID  THE  Auctioneer  " 82 

"  Mr.  Parker  stood  looking  steadily  at  his  Visitor  '' . . .  122 

" '  I   don't   want   to   be    Anttbody's   Servant,   Lady,    and 

WOULD   n't   if   I    could    HELP   IT  ' " 132 

"  He    picked    up    the   Bird   and    held    it   out   at   Arm's 

Length  " 152 

"He  led  Jack  up  to  the  Man  who  sat  upon  a  Barrel".  174 
"Jack  followed  the  Captain  and  the  Young  Lady  up 

THE   CROOKED   PaTH  TO   THE    HoUSE " 200 

"  ThEY'  found   HER  STILL  SITTING  IN  THE   SAME    PlaCE  " 234 

Jack  and  Dred  rescue  Eleanor — The   Start 272 

The  Pirates  fire  upon  the  Fugitrt^s 316 

"  Colonel  Parker  reached  and  laid  his  Hand  upon  Jack's 

Shoulder.  '  Ay,'  said  he,  "T  is  a  good,  honest  Face  ' "  348 
"The  Combatants  cut  and  slashed  with  savage  Fury"..  384 
"  '  Then  I  will  come,'  said  he  " 408 


IX 


JACK  BALLISTER'S  FORTUNES 


i 


JACK  BALLISTER'S  FOETUNES 


INTEODUCTION 

ONE  of  the  most  important  problems  that  confronted 
the  Virginia  jDlantations  in  the  earher  colonial  days 
was  the  question  as  to  how  to  obtain  sufficient  labor  to 
till  the  soil  and  to  raise  tobacco  for  the  English  market. 

Some  of  the  colonial  planters  of  Virginia  owned  thou- 
sands of  acres  of  the  richest  tobacco  land  in  the  world 
—  whole  tracts  of  virgin  earth  where  the  priceless  loam 
lay  open  to  the  rain,  the  air,  and  the  warm  sky;  boun- 
tifully fruitful  loam,  only  waiting  for  tillage  to  be  coined 
into  vast  tobacco  fortunes  for  the  princely  owners. 
All  that  was  needed  was  human  lal3or  to  dig  the  earth, 
to  plant,  to  hoe,  to  cultivate,  and  to  prepare  the  to- 
bacco for  market,  for  there  was  not  a  hundredth  part 
enough  labor  to  turn  the  waiting  soil,  that  lay  ready  to 
yield  at  any  time  its  thousands  of  hogsheads  of  tobacco, 
and  the  question  was,  where  and  how  labor  was  to  be 
obtained. 

The  easiest  and  quickest  solution  of  the  question  ap- 
peared to  be  the  importation  of  negro  slave  labor  from 
Africa. 

The  introduction  of  such  slave  labor  began  almost  in 
the  earliest  days  of  the  provinces.  Hundreds  of  ship- 
loads of  African  negroes  were  brought  across  the  ocean 
and  set  to  work  digging  and  hoeing  in  the  tobacco 


2  JACK  BALLISTEE'S   FORTUNES 

fields,  and  slave  trade  became  a  regular  traffic  between 
the  west  coast  of  Africa  and  the  Americas. 

But  the  African  slaves,  when  imported,  were  found 
only  fit  to  do  the  very  rudest  and  simplest  sort  of  la- 
bor. They  were  poor,  ignorant  savages,  who,  until  they 
were  set  to  work  on  the  plantations,  knew  almost  noth- 
ing at  all  about  such  labor  as  was  practised  by  civilized 
mankind.  When  they  were  told  to  dig  the  earth,  they 
dug,  but  they  labored  without  knowing  either  why  they 
worked  or  wherefore.  They  did  just  as  their  masters 
or  their  overseers  bade  them,  and  nothing  more.  Be- 
yond this  they  could  be  taught  little  or  nothing,  for  not 
only  were  those  earlier  savages  like  children,  incapable 
of  learning  much  of  anything ;  but,  in  most  instances, 
they  could  not  even  speak  a  single  word  of  the  language 
of  their  masters,  and  so  could  not  understand  what  their 
owners  wanted  of  them.  They  were  of  use  onlj^  to  work 
as  a  dumb  animal  might  work,  and  not  as  white  men 
could  work. 

So  the  Virginia  plantations  were  still  without  that  in- 
telligent labor  which  white  men  alone  could  bring  to 
the  tilling  of  the  soil ;  labor  that  knew  what  it  was  about 
when  it  dug  the  earth,  and  which,  when  told  to  do  so, 
could  turn  its  hand  to  other  things  that  might  be  re- 
quired of  it.  And  so  it  was  that  every  means  was  used 
to  bring  English  men  and  women  to  the  Virginia  plan- 
tations. 

Even  in  the  last  part  of  the  seventeenth  century  those 
immigrants  who  afterward  developed  our  great  coun- 
try into  what  it  now  is,  were  beginning  to  pour  into 
the  colonies.  But,  of  this  immigrant  labor,  the  best 
and  the  most  intelligent  did  not  come  to  Virginia  or 
other  of  the  southern  provinces.  It  drifted  to  the  New 
England  or  the  Pennsylvania  provinces  rather  than  to 
those  in  the  South.  There,  in  the  North,  any  man 
could  obtain  a  farm  for  himself  by  hewing  it  out  of  the 


INTRODUCTION  3 

wilderness.  In  Virginia  the  land  was  nearly  all  owned 
by  the  great  tobacco  planters.  Hence  it  was  that  only 
the  poorest  and  least  ambitious  of  these  white  men 
and  women  could  in  the  earlier  provincial  days  be 
induced  to  go  thither,  and  hence  white  labor  was  so 
much  more  in  demand  in  the  South  than  in  the  North. 

A  certain  class  of  the  immigrants  of  that  time  were 
called  "redemptioners"  or  "redemption  servants." 
They  were  so  called  because  they  had  to  redeem  by 
their  labor  the  cost  of  their  passage  across  the  ocean 
from  England  to  America.  Upon  their  arrival  in  the 
New  World  they  were  sold  for  a  term  of  years  —  seven, 
eight,  nine,  ten,  as  the  case  might  be  —  and  the  money 
received  from  such  sale  was  paid  to  the  ship  captain 
or  the  merchant  who  transported  them  from  the  Old 
World  to  the  New.  Thus  their  debt  was  redeemed, 
and  hence  their  name. 

Those  who  came  thus  as  redemption  servants  from 
England  were  generally  the  poorest  and  most  wi'etched 
of  its  people — paupers,  outcasts,  criminals — unfortu- 
nates who  were  willing  to  do  almost  anything  to  get 
away  from  their  surroundings  into  a  new  life,  where 
they  hoped  something  better  might  be  in  store  for  them 
than  that  wi-etchedness  which  they  had  had  to  endure 
at  home. 

Thousands  of  such  people  were  sent  across  the  ocean 
to  the  Virginia  and  other  plantations,  where,  poor  and 
miserable  as  they  often  were,  the  demand  for  them  grew 
ever  gi-eater  and  greater  as  the  wilderness  became  more 
and  more  open  to  cultivation. 

Every  year  higher  and  higher  prices  were  paid  for 
such  servants,  until,  at  last,  a  ship-load  of  redemptioners 
(provided  the  voyage  across  the  ocean  had  been  speedy 
and  no  contagious  disease  had  developed  aboard  the 
vessel)  became  almost  the  most  profitable  cargo  exported 
from  England. 


4  JACK   BALLISTER'S   FORTUNES 

When  the  transportation  of  servants  became  thus  so 
remunerative,  the  crimps  who  supplied  them  to  mer- 
chants or  to  ship  captains  were  oftentimes  tempted, 
when  other  means  failed,  to  resort  to  kidnapping,  or 
man-stealing,  to  supply  the  demand. 

During  the  earlier  fifty  years  of  the  last  century, 
thousands  of  men,  women,  and  even  children  were 
stolen  from  England  and  sent  away  to  the  Americas, 
perhaps  never  to  retm-n,  perhaps  never  even  to  be  heard 
of  again.  In  those  days — "The  kidnapper  will  catch 
you!"  were  words  of  terror  to  frighten  children  and 
gadding  girls  on  all  the  coastways  of  England. 


CHAPTER  I 


THE   AMEKICA   MERCHANT 


HEZEKIAH  TIPTON  had  been  a  merchant  in  the 
America  trade  for  upwards  of  forty  years.  He 
had  shipped  hundreds  of  servants  to  the  Americas; 
they  were  as  much  a  part  of  his  cargo  as  tea  or  broad- 
cloth or  books  or  silk  stuffs. 

Maybe  he  was  not  always  scrupulously  careful  to 
know  whence  came  some  of  the  servants  he  thus  trans- 
ported. He  was  reasonably  honest  in  his  dealings,  as  the 
times  went,  and  he  would  not  often  buy  a  servant  from  a 
crimp  if  he  knew  positively  that  the  crimp  had  kid- 
napped the  man.  But  if  he  was  not  positively  sure,  he 
would  not  go  out  of  his  way  to  inquire  into  things  that 
did  not  concern  him.  He  would  either  take  the  servant 
offered  for  sale,  or  else  he  would  not  take  him;  but  he 
would  not  trouble  himself  to  ask  how  the  crimp  ob- 
tained the  man,  or  whether  the  man  himself  was  or  was 
not  really  willing  to  emigrate  to  the  colonies. 

There  was,  for  instance,  a  good  deal  of  talk  at  one 
time  about  three  men  whom  Hezekiah  had  sent  to  South 
Carolina.  A  Dutchman  had  brought  them  into  the  har- 
bor in  his  lugger.  He  said  that  the  men  desired  to 
emigrate,  and  Hezekiah,  who  at  that  time  had  a  ship 
just  clearing  for  Charleston,  expressed  his  willingness 
to  pay  the  captain  something  for  them,  if  he  did  not 
demand  too  much.  Two  of  the  men  were  stupefied  with 
drink,  and  the  third  had  a  bloody  clout  wrapped  around 


6  JACK   BALLISTEE'S   FOKTUNES 

his  head,  and  was  cut  and  bruised  as  though  he  had 
been  beaten  with  a  club  or  a  belaying-pin.  It  was  an 
evident  case  of  kidnapping,  but  nevertheless  Hezekiah 
paid  the  Dutch  captain  for  the  men,  and  had  them  sent 
directly  aboard  the  ship.  One  of  the  three  men  was 
sober  the  next  morning.  Hezekiah  had  come  aboard 
the  ship,  and  as  he  was  rowed  away  toward  the  shore 
the  man  leaned  over  the  rail  above,  shouting  out  curses 
after  the  old  merchant,  swearing  that  he  would  cer- 
tainly come  back  to  England  some  time  and  muixler 
him.  "  You  think  you  're  safe,"  bawled  the  man  after 
the  departing  boat, — "you  think  you  're  safe!  Wait 
till  you  feel  my  knife  in  your  back  this  day  twelve- 
month—  d'  ye  hear! — then  you  won't  feel  so  safe.'^ 
The  men  rowing  the  boat  to  the  shore  grinned  and 
winked  at  one  another.  Old  Hezekiah  sat  immovably 
in  the  stem,  paying  no  attention  to  the  man's  threats 
and  imprecations,  which  continued  until  the  captain  of 
the  ship  knocked  him  down,  and  so  silenced  his  outcries. 
This  affair  created,  as  was  said,  a  good  deal  of  talk 
at  the  time. 

In  the  year  1719,  beginning  in  February  and  ending 
in  November,  Hezekiah  Tipton  sent  away  to  the  Ameri- 
can colonies  or  plantations  in  all  over  five  score  servants. 

One  day  early  in  March,  a  company  of  nineteen  men 
who  had  volunteered  to  emigrate  to  the  Virginias  was 
brought  up  from  London  to  meet  the  brig  Arundel  at 
Southampton.  They  were  quartered  at  the  Golden  Fish 
Inn,  and  during  the  morning  the  old  America  mer- 
chant went  to  look  them  over.  The  men  were  ranged  in 
a  row  along  by  the  wall  of  the  inn  yard,  and  the  old  man 
walked  up  and  down  in  front  of  the  line,  peering  at 
each  man  with  half-shut  eyes  and  wi'inkled  face,  while 
a  few  people  from  the  inn  stood  looking  on  with  a  sort 
of  inert  interest.    He  did  not  seem  very  well  pleased 


THE   AMERICA   MEECHANT  7 

with  the  appearance  of  the  servants.  There  were  only 
nineteen,  and  there  should  have  been  one  and  twenty. 
The  agent  explained  that  there  had  been  twenty-one  of 
them  when  he  wi'ote  from  London,  but  that  one  of  them 
had  run  away  during  the  night,  and  that  another  would 
not  sign  the  papers.  "'T  was,"  said  he,  "as  fine,  good 
a  young  lad  of  sixteen  or  eighteen  as  ever  you  see. 
But  his  mother,  methinks  it  was,  comes  in  crjdng  at 
the  last  minute  and  takes  him  away  from  under  our 
werry  noses,  so  to  speak."  Hezekiah  grunted  a  reply 
as  he  walked  up  and  down  along  the  row  of  grinning, 
shuffling  men,  looking  them  over.  The  big  knotted 
joints  of  the  old  man's  fingers  gripped  the  cracked  and 
yellow  ivory  head  of  his  walking-stick,  which  he  every 
now  and  then  tapped,  tapped  on  the  stones  of  the  court- 
yard. "  That  man,"  said  he,  in  his  cracked,  querulous 
voice,  poking  his  walking-stick  as  he  spoke  at  a  lean 
little  man  standing  in  the  line — "that  man — why  did 
ye  bring  him  ?  How  much  d'  ye  think  he  '11  fetch  in 
the  Virginias  ?     I 's  warrant  me  not  fifteen  guineas." 

"  Why,  Master  Tipton,"  said  the  agent,  referring  to  a 
slip  of  paper  which  he  held  in  his  hand,  "there  you 
are  mightily  mistook.  Maybe,  like  enough,  that  man  is 
worth  more  than  any  of  'em.  He 's  a  skilled  barber  and 
leecher,  and  a  good  man  he  is,  and  knows  his  trade, 
to  be  sure,  and  that  werry  well.  Just  you  think.  Master 
Tipton,  how  much  he  might  be  worth  as  a  vally  or 
body-servant  to  one  of  them  there  Virginia  planters." 

"  Humph ! "  grunted  the  old  man,  and  he  shook  his 
lean  head  slowly  from  side  to  side.  "  I  '11  tell  you  what 
it  is,  Master  Dockray,"  he  said  agaiu,  after  a  while, 
"they  be  not  nigh  so  good  as  those  I  had  last — and 
only  nineteen  where  there  should  have  been  one  and 
twenty."  The  agent  made  no  answer  and  the  old  man 
continued  his  inspection  for  a  while.  He  did  not  say 
anything  further,  and  by  and  by  he  tuxned  away  and, 


8  JACK   BALLISTER'S   FORTUNES 

with  the  agent  at  his  heels,  entered  the  inn  to  receipt  the 
papers,  and  with  his  going  the  insi)ection  came  to  an  end. 
Finally,  in  making  you  acquainted  with  old  Hezekiah 
Tipton,  it  may  be  said  that  he  was  a  notable  miser  of  his 
time.  To  see  him  hobbling  along  the  street  in  his  snuff- 
colored  coat,  threadbare  at  the  seams,  and  here  and 
there  neatly  patched  and  darned,  one  might  take  him, 
perhaps,  for  a  poor  decent  school-teacher  of  narrow 
means,  but  certainly  not  for  one  of  the  richest  men  in 
the  county,  as  he  was  reputed  to  be.  There  were  a 
great  many  stories  concerning  him  in  Southampton, 
many  of  them  doubtless  apocrj^^hal,  some  of  them 
based  u^^on  a  foundation  of  truth.  One  such  story  was 
that  every  Sunday  afternoon  the  old  man  used  to  enter 
into  his  own  room,  bolt  the  door,  and  spread  gold  money 
out  on  the  floor ;  that  he  would  then  strip  himself  and 
roll  in  the  yellow  wealth  as  though  taking  a  bath.  An- 
other story  was  that  he  had  three  iron  chests  in  the 
garret  of  his  home,  each  chest  bolted  to  the  floor  with 
iron  bolts.  That  the  one  chest  was  full  of  Spanish 
doubloons,  the  second  full  of  French  louis  d'ors,  the 
third  full  of  English  guineas.  The  Southampton  trades- 
men used  to  say  that  it  was  more  difficult  to  collect 
theii"  bills  from  Hezekiah  Tipton  than  from  almost 
any  one  in  the  town. 


CHAPTER  II 

JACK   BALLISTER 

JACK  BALLISTER  at  this  time  was  a  little  over 
sixteen  years  old,  and  had  now  been  living  with  his 
nncle  Tipton  something  over  two  years. 

Jack's  father  at  the  time  of  his  death  had  been  vicar 
of  Stalbridge  for  nearly  nineteen  j^ears,  so  that  Jack, 
nntil  he  had  come  to  Southampton,  had  never  known 
anything  but  that  part  of  Wiltshire  which  immediately 
surrounded  Stalbridge  and  Stalbridge  vicarage.  The 
only  other  inmates  of  the  vicarage  were  old  Janet,  the 
housekeeper,  and  a  farmer's  daughter  who  helped  about 
the  house,  and  old  Giles  Cobb,  who  came  up  now  and 
then  to  work  in  the  garden. 

There  was,  by  the  way,  always  a  singular  charm  to 
Jack  in  the  memories  of  this  garden.  Some  of  his 
earliest  recollections  were  of  playing  out  in  the  tangled 
sunny  reaches  while  old  Giles  bent,  with  stooping 
shoulders  and  rounded  back,  over  his  work,  digging 
and  planting  and  picking  about  at  the  weeds  in  the 
brown,  loamy  beds.  There  was  a  yew  hedge,  and  two 
bee  hives  that  stood  under  a  cherry  tree,  and  a  row  of 
two  or  three  cucumber  frames  that  lay  bright  and 
shining,  reflecting  in  their  glassy  surface  the  clouds 
and  the  warm  sky  above.  There  was  always  an  asso- 
ciation of  flowers,  of  birds,  and  of  warm  yellow  sunlight 
about  the  tangled,  flowery  space,  and  in  the  years  after- 
wards, when  Jack  visited  the  old  ^'icarage,  one  of  the 


10  JACK  ballistee's  foetunes 

first  places  he  went  to  was  the  garden.  It  looked 
strangely  familiar  yet  strangely  unfamiliar.  It  seemed 
more  nnkempt  and  nncared  for.  The  birds  were  sing- 
ing in  the  trees  over  beyond  the  hedge,  but  the  two 
straw-thatched  bee  hives  were  gone.  Nevertheless  he 
could  almost  fancy  that  old  Giles  with  his  hunched 
shoulders  and  his  smock  frock  might  at  any  moment 
come  in  through  the  gate,  trundling  his  squealing  wheel- 
barrow before  him. 

Jack  was  not  quite  four  years  old  when  his  mother 
had  died.  It  seemed  to  him  that  he  could  remember 
her,  yet  the  image  he  held  in  his  mind  might  not  have 
been  an  actual  memory,  but  only  some  strong  associa- 
tion connected  with  things  that  Janet  had  told  him 
about  her.  Yet  it  seemed  to  him  that  he  really  did  hold 
a  mental  impression  of  her  in  his  memory  of  early  things, 
an  impression  of  a  large,  tender,  shadowy  figui'e,  dressed 
in  black,  and  with  a  white  kerchief  or  shawl  around  her 
shoulders.  He  could  almost  fancy  that  he  could  re- 
member a  peculiar  fragrance  that  lingered  about  the 
folds  of  her  dress  —  a  fragrance  like  that  of  the  old 
lavender  chest  where  Janet  kept  the  house  linen.  This 
recollection  of  his  mother  might  have  been  only  an 
image  conjured  up  out  of  what  had  been  told  him  con- 
cerning her,  but,  as  was  said,  it  always  seemed  as  though 
it  were  a  real  and  living  memory.  It  is  sometimes 
difficult  to  tell  where  fancy  ends  and  memory  begins  in 
those  broken  fragments  of  recollections  of  early  child- 
hood. 

It  seemed  to  him  that  the  same  figm*e  was  present  in 
the  memory  of  a  certain  time  when  he,  as  a  little,  little 
boy,  had  fallen  down  the  steps  and  cut  his  chin.  It 
seemed  to  him  that  it  was  she  who  had  comforted  him, 
singing  to  him  while  she  scraj^ed  a  crisp  half-apjDle  and 
fed  him  with  the  pulp  from  the  point  of  a  knife.  Janet 
had  said  that  that  fall  had  not  happened  until  the  year 


JACK   BALLISTER  11 

after  his  mother's  death,  but  it  seemed  to  Jack  that  it  was 
his  mother's  presence  that  had  filled  the  memory  of  the 
accident,  and  he  always  felt  that  mayl^e  it  was  Janet 
who  was  mistaken,  and  not  his  own  recollections  of  the 
trivial  event. 

He  often  thought  of  his  mother,  as  a  motherless  boy 
is  apt  to  think  of  that  missing  presence,  and  it  seemed 
to  him  that  if  she  had  only  lived  he  would  have  loved 
her  very  much,  and  that  his  life  would  have  been  much 
sweeter  to  him. 

Janet  often  talked  to  him  about  her.  His  grand- 
mother, Janet  told  him,  had  adopted  her  as  a  little 
girl,  and  had  brought  her  up  with  her  own  daughter,  who 
was  now  Lady  Arabella  Sutton.  She  had  been,  Janet 
said,  more  of  a  companion  than  a  waiting-maid.  Of 
these  stories  of  by- gone  times,  that  children  so  delight 
to  have  told  to  them,  Jack  would  make  Janet  tell  him 
most  often  of  the  great  family  quarrel  that  had  hap- 
pened when  his  father  had  told  the  others  that  he 
and  Anne  Tipton  were  going  to  be  married.  Janet 
always  made  the  most  out  of  the  story,  embelhshing 
it  more  and  more  as  the  years  passed  by,  and  as  her 
imagination  suggested  new  details.  "  Indeed,"  she  would 
maybe  say,  "you  should  ha'  seen  him  stand  up  before 
your  grandmother,  as  grand  as  you  please,  with  his  arms 
folded  so.  '  A  Ballister,  madam,'  says  he,  '  can  marry 
where  he  chooses.'  " 

Jack  could  not  imagine  his  father  as  the  hero  of  any 
such  scene,  still  less  could  he  image  him  as  riding  post- 
haste to  Southampton  when  his  mother  had  been  sent 
away  home  from  Grampton  Hall. 

He  often  heard  people  say  that  his  father  was  a 
great  scholar.  The  vicar  was  always  silent  and  pre- 
occupied, sometimes  deep  in  his  books,  sometimes 
scribbling  away  with  a  busy  pen,  a  litter  of  papers  scat- 
tered all  over  the  floor  about  him,  and  his  wig  pushed 


12  JACK   BALLISTEE'S    FOETUNES 

back  awry  from  Ms  smooth,  round  forehead ;  sometimes 
walking  up  and  down  the  garden  paths  with  his  hands 
clasped  behind  his  back,  his  head  bent  forward,  and 
his  eyes  fixed  on  the  ground.  He  used  especially  to 
walk  thus  while  he  was  formulating  in  his  mind  the 
outlines  of  one  of  the  pamphlets  he  used  to  write.  Jack 
could  not  imagine  that  any  one  so  absorbed  in  his 
books  and  his  studies  could  ever  have  been  the  hero  of 
such  romance.  And  then  he  always  seemed  so  very, 
very  old  to  Jack.  It  was  hard  to  imagine  that  such  a 
dry  and  sapless  life  could  ever  have  had  the  ichor  of 
romance  flowing  through  it. 

Before  Janet  had  come  to  Stalbridge  she  had  been 
one  of  the  dependents  of  the  other  Ballisters.  "  They 
be  grand,  grand  folks,"  she  would  sometimes  say,  "  and 
hold  their  heads  as  high  as  ever  the  Duke  of  Newcastle 
himself."  She  sometimes  told  Jack  that  if  his  father 
had  not  set  his  family  all  against  him,  he  might  have 
been  a  bishop  as  like  as  not.  "  I  'd  never  come  to  Stal- 
bridge only  for  your  mother,  poor  soul,"  said  she. 
"  But  she  was  fond  of  me,  and  I  was  fond  of  her,  and  so 
I  came." 

It  seemed  to  Jack  that  he  could  hardly  remember  the 
time  when  his  father  did  not  teach  him  Latin  and 
Greek.  One  of  his  first  recollections  as  a  little,  little 
boy  was  of  his  father  teaching  him  the  Greek  alphabet. 
He  learned  little  or  nothing  else  than  the  two  languages, 
and  it  is  not  likely  that  his  father  thought  anything 
else  was  worth  learning.  Jack  once  overheard  the  vicar 
say  to  old  Sir  Thomas  Harding,  "  Sir,  I  will  make  the 
boy  the  best  scholar  in  England."  The  words  remained 
fixed  in  Jack's  memory  as  such  fragmentary  speeches  do 
sometimes  fix  themselves,  for  no  especial  reason,  in  the 
mind  of  boyhood.  The  promise  of  great  scholarship  was, 
however,  never  to  be  fulfilled,  for  Jack  was  only  four- 
teen years  old  when  the  ^dcar  died,  and  in  the  neglected 


JACK   BALLISTEE,  13 

two  years  at  Southampton  he  never  went  to  school  a 
day,  or  studied  six  words  of  a  lesson,  or  read  a  page  of 
Greek  or  Latin,  except  one  or  two  times  when  Mr.  Stet- 
son made  him  read  a  passage  or  two  of  Cfreek  as  a 
matter  of  curiosity. 

Jack's  father  never  said  anything  to  him  about  his 
mother  or  his  relations.  His  uncle  Tipton  had  come 
up  from  Southampton  just  before  his  father's  death, 
but  that  was  the  only  time  that  Jack  had  ever  really 
seen  one  of  his  own  kindi'ed. 

During  the  fall  of  the  year  in  which  Jack's  father  had 
died,  a  messenger  on  horseback,  with  gi-eat  jackboots  and 
a  suit  of  green  livery  turned  up  with  scarlet,  rode  up  to 
the  vicarage  and  delivered  a  packet  to  Janet,  who  pres- 
ently brought  it  in  to  the  vicar,  where  he  sat  in  the  sag- 
ging wainscoted  study,  wi-iting  in  the  midst  of  a  litter 
of  papers  scattered  on  the  floor.  The  vicar  set  his  pen 
in  his  mouth  and  took  the  letter,  and  Jack  watched 
him  as  he  broke  the  great  red  seal  and  began  reading 
the  packet,  now  and  then  frowning,  either  in  the  effort 
of  reading  the  wiitten  words  or  else  at  the  purport  of 
the  words  themselves.  When  he  had  finished  the  letter 
he  laid  it  to  one  side  and  resumed  his  writing  where  it  had 
been  interrupted.  The  messenger  who  had  brought  the 
letter  did  not  immediately  go  away.  Jack  could  hear 
now  and  then  the  jingle  of  his  bridle  or  spurs,  and  now 
and  then  the  sound  of  his  whistling,  as  he  lounged  in 
the  warm  sunlight  outside.  Then  there  was  the  noise 
of  voices  talking  together — the  voices  of  Janet  and  the 
messenger — and  presently  the  housekeeper  came  into 
the  study  to  say  that  the  man  wanted  to  know  when  he 
could  have  his  answer.  The  vicar  looked  up  with  the 
bewildered  air  he  always  wore  when  he  was  interrupted. 
"Eh!"  he  said,  "eh!  what  d' ye  say!  Answer!  Who 
wants  an  answer?"  Then  remembering,  "oh,  ave, 
there  's  no  answer  to  send.     You  may  tell  him,  there  's 


14  JACK  BALLISTEK'S   FORTUNES 

no  answer."  And  then  j)resently  the  messenger  rode 
clattering  away  whence  he  had  come. 

The  letter  lay  where  the  vicar  had  left  it  until  the 
next  afternoon,  and  Jack,  impelled  by  curiosity,  managed 
to  read  a  part  of  it.  It  was  from  his  grand-aunt  Lady 
Dinah  Welbeck.  She  said  that  she  was  very  ill,  and  she 
asked  the  \dcar  to  come  and  see  her  before  her  end,  and 
that  all  should  be  forgiven.  The  vicar  did  not  go,  either 
because  he  did  not  think  of  the  message  again,  or  else 
because  he  did  not  choose  to  resume  his  correspondence 
with  his  family.  The  letter  lay  about  until  the  \dcar  tore 
a  great  strip  off  from  it  with  which  to  light  a  candle  in  the 
next  room,  and  the  next  day  the  written  sheet  was  gone. 

Some  time  after  Lady  Dinah  Welbeck's  death  another 
communication,  long  and  bulky,  was  brought  to  the  vic- 
arage. The  vicar  read  it  but  paid  no  attention  to  it. 
Then  another  letter  came  and  another.  The  last  letter 
the  ^dcar  did  not  even  open  for  several  days.  He  was 
very  busy  at  work  upon  a  pamphlet,  and  the  letter  lay 
neglected  upon  the  waiting  table  until  one  morning- 
Janet  brought  it  and  thrust  it  into  his  hand.  "Eh!" 
said  he,  as  though  suddenly  awakening  to  things  about 
him,  "what  is  this!  what  is  this  I"  He  took  the  letter 
and  looked  at  it.  "Why,  this  letter  should  have  been 
given  me  three  days  ago,"  he  said. 

"  So  't  was,  master,"  said  Janet,  "  but  you  did  not 
read  it." 

"Did  I  not  so?"  said  Jack's  father,  and  then  he 
broke  the  seal  and  read  it.  But  still  he  paid  no  atten- 
tion to  it. 

No  doubt  the  vicar's  family  would  long  since  have 
received  him  back  among  them  if  he  had  cared  to  have 
them  do  so.  He  and  they  had  drifted  far  apart  in  the 
nineteen  years  that  had  passed.  During  that  time  all 
ill  feeling  —  at  least  on  the  part  of  the  family — had 
faded  away  and  died.    There  was  no  intimacy,  hardly 


JACK   BALLISTER  15 

any  acquaintance,  between  the  ^icar  and  his  brother, 
Sir  Henry,  neither  was  there  any  longer  rancor  between 
them. 

Some  of  the  letters  written  at  this  time  had  been 
written  by  Sir  Henry,  and  after  a  number  had  been  sent 
without  eliciting  any  reply,  the  baronet  sent  the  Grramp- 
ton  lawj^er  down  to  Stalbridge.  The  attorney  and  the 
vicar  were  closeted  together  for  a  long  time,  and  when 
they  at  last  came  out  of  the  study  the  vicar  was  very 
angry.  It  was  the  only  time  that  Jack  had  ever  seen 
him  so.  "  They  may  keep  it  all ! "  he  was  saying  in  a 
great  loud  voice.  "  They  may  keep  it  all !  I  want  none 
of  it,  I  say.  All  that  I  want  of  them  is  to  let  me  alone 
as  I  let  them  alone.  I  want,  I  say,  none  of  their  money 
or  nothing  that  belongs  to  them.  They  may  keep  all 
for  themselves." 

Jack  was  leaning  out  of  an  upper  window  in  the  sun- 
light, looking  down  upon  their  heads,  as  they  stood  just 
below.  Their  voices  came  up  to  him  through  the  warm 
air  very  distinctly. 

"  But,  sir,"  said  the  lawyer,  "  do  you  not  then  con- 
sider the  welfare  of  your  own  son  f " 

"  Sir,"  said  the  vicar  in  the  same  loud  voice,  "  that,  I 
believe,  is  not  your  affair.  I  will  look  after  my  son's 
welfare  mine  own  self.  I  tell  you,  sirrah,  that  those 
who  sent  you  may  e'en  keep  all  of  the  money  for  them- 
selves. I  want  nothing  of  them,  and  neither  shall  my 
son  take  aught  from  them." 

"  But,  sir,"  said  the  lawyer,  "  you  forget  that  the 
money  hath  been  left  to  you  individually.  In  taking 
it  you  do  not  take  anything  from  them.  It  was  not 
left  to  your  brother,  it  is  not  a  gift  from  him  or,  indeed, 
from  any  one,  and  it  does  not  belong  to  any  one  but 
you.  Your  family  cannot  even  receive  it  from  you  with- 
out process  of  law,  and  you  cannot  help  taking  it." 

"  Aye,  but  I  can  help  taking  it,"  cried  out  the  'yicar. 


16  JACK   BALLISTEE'S   FOKTUNES 

"  Sir,  sir ! "  said  the  lawyer,  "  pray  be  calm,  sir.  Pray 
look  at  this  matter  reasonably.     Here  is  this  money — " 

"  I  will  not  hear  anything  more,"  cried  out  the  vicar, 
"  only  I  tell  yon  I  shall  not  touch  a  farthing  of  it." 

Then  the  lawyer  lost  his  temper.  "  Sir,"  said  he,  "  I 
must  needs  tell  you  that  you  are  the  most  unreasonable 
man  that  ever  I  met  in  all  of  my  life." 

The  vicar  drew  himself  up  to  his  full  height.  "  Sir," 
said  he,  "sure  you  forget  yourself  and  to  whom  you 
speak.  You  forget  who  I  am,  sir.  You  are  welcome  to 
think  as  you  choose  about  me,  but  you  are  not  welcome 
to  tell  me  youi*  opinion  of  me.  Who  are  you,  sirrah, 
to  speak  so  to  James  Ballister  ?  "  And  then  he  turned 
upon  his  heel  back  into  the  house,  shutting  the  door 
behind  him. 

Jack,  as  he  still  leaned  out  into  the  sunlight,  looking 
down  from  above,  saw  the  stranger  stand  irresolutely 
for  a  while,  then  tui'n  and  go  slowly  out  of  the  gate  and 
mount  his  horse  and  ride  away. 

That  winter  the  vicar  died,  and  Jack  went  to  South- 
ampton to  live. 

Perhaps  one  of  the  bitterest  days  in  Jack  Ballister's 
boyhood  life  was  the  first  evening  after  his  arrival  at 
his  new  home.  His  uncle  had  had  the  parlor  opened,  as 
though  to  do  some  honor  to  his  coming.  Jack  sat  for 
nearly  an  hour  on  the  stiff  uncomfortable  chair,  saying 
almost  nothing,  but  just  sitting  there  by  the  dim  light 
of  a  candle.  Old  Hezekiah  had  tried  to  talk,  but  the 
conversation  had  lapsed  and  dwindled  away  into  silence. 
Xow  he  sat  winking  and  blinking  in  the  light  of  the 
candle,  looking  as  though  he  were  trying  to  think  of 
something  more  to  say,  but  yet  saying  nothing,  and 
Jack,  too  miserable  and  depressed  to  talk,  ventured 
nothing  upon  his  own  part.  He  was  very  glad  when 
at  last  he  was  permitted  to  creep  away  miserably  to 


JACK   BALLISTEE  17 

bed  and  to  yield  himself  fully  to  the  luxmy  of  hot 
tears  and  of  utter  loneliness  and  homesickness. 

It  seemed  to  him  that  night  as  though  he  never  would 
be  happy  again,  but  even  by  the  next  morning  he  found 
himself  awakened  to  a  new  and  fresh  hold  upon  his 
life.  Things  appeared  bright  and  cheerful  again  in 
the  fresh  sunlight  of  a  new  day,  and  after  he  had  fin- 
ished his  frugal  breakfast  he  went  out  into  the  streets 
and  down  to  the  harbor,  full  of  interest  in  the  new  sur- 
roundings in  which  he  found  himself  placed.  The  har- 
bor and  the  ships  at  anchor  there  seemed  very  won- 
derful to  the  boy  fresh  from  the  inland  country.  There 
was  a  great  high-pooped  battle-ship  lying  at  anchor  in 
the  harbor  that  morning,  and  its  sloping  decks,  whence 
came  the  distant  rattle  of  a  drum,  seemed  to  teem  with 
bustling  life,  lit  every  now  and  then  by  a  spark  of  sun- 
light glinting  on  the  slant  of  a  musket-barrel.  As  Jack 
stood  and  gazed,  he  forgot  how  lonely  he  had  been  the 
night  before. 

In  a  little  while — in  a  few  weeks — his  life  had 
drifted  into  all  these  new  circumstances,  and  had  be- 
come one  with  them,  and  he  presently  found  himself 
looking  back  to  that  old  life  at  Stalbridge  as  a  thing 
gone  by  and  done  with  forever.  All  that  remained 
was  the  memory  of  those  things  as  episodes  ended  and 
done. 

It  is  wonderful  with  what  ductility  life  fits  itself  into 
new  circumstances,  becoming  so  accustomed  to  them, 
even  in  a  few  days,  that  they  no  longer  seem  to  be  new. 

After  that  first  formal  reception  in  the  musty,  stuffy 
parlor,  old  Hezekiah  seemed  to  consider  his  duty  to  his 
nephew  as  ended.  Thereafter  Jack  was  allowed  to  go 
where  he  pleased  and  to  do  as  he  chose.  The  old  man 
hardly  ever  spoke  to  the  lad  excepting  now  and  then  in 
some  dry  and  constrained  fashion.  Old  Deborah,  the 
housekeeper,  used  to  send  him  on  errands  occasionally, 


18  JACK  BALLISTER'S   FORTUNES 

but  excepting  for  such  little  demands  upon  him,  he  had 
no  ties  to  bind  him  to  his  new  home  except  as  it  was  a 
place  wherein  to  eat  his  meals  and  to  sleep  at  night. 

He  spent  nearly  all  his  time  lounging  about  the  har- 
bor front,  for  there  was  a  never-ending  delight  to  him 
in  the  presence  of  the  gi*eat  ships  and  the  rough  sailors, 
who  would  talk  of  strange  foreign  countries — of  having 
been  to  Calcutta,  or  to  Shanghai,  or  to  Jamaica,  or  to 
the  Americas  or  the  Brazils,  as  Jack  might  have  talked 
of  having  been  to  the  Isle  of  Wight.  They  spoke  of 
the  Caribbean  Sea,  or  of  the  Indian  Ocean,  as  he  might 
speak  of  the  Solent. 

He  often  used  to  strike  up  an  acquaintance  with 
these  sailors  an  acquaintance  that  would  become, 
maybe,  almost  intimate  for  the  two  or  three  days  that 
they  were  in  the  harbor. 

It  was  an  idle,  aimless,  useless  life  that  he  lived  at 
this  time.  Sometimes — maybe  when  he  was  running 
on  some  petty,  trivial  errand  for  old  Deborah — a  sudden 
feeling  of  almost  nauseating  shame  for  his  useless  ex- 
istence would  come  upon  him  and  weigh  him  down 
with  a  leaden  weight.  It  seemed  almost  as  though  an 
inner  voice,  as  of  conscience,  would  say:  "Fie  upon 
you !  A  great,  big,  hulking  fellow  like  you  to  go  carry- 
ing a  little  crock  of  yeast  through  the  streets  like  this!" 
Grenerally  when  such  an  inner  voice  as  of  conscience 
would  speak,  he  would  satisfy  himself  by  replying  as 
with  an  inner  voice  of  his  own :  "  Oh,  well,  't  is  Uncle 
Hezekiah's  fault.  If  he  'd  only  set  me  work  to  do,  why, 
I  'd  do  the  work,  and  be  glad  enough  of  the  chance." 

Mr.  Stetson,  the  rector,  used  sometimes  to  talk  to 
him  almost  like  an  echo  of  that  inner  accusing  voice. 
"  'T  is  a  vast  pity,  Jack,"  he  would  sometimes  say,  "  that 
such  a  gi-eat,  stout  fellow  as  thou  art  should  live  so  in 
useless  idleness.  If  nothing  else  better,  why  do  you 
not  study  your  books  ? "    And  Jack  would  be  very  un- 


JACK   BALLISTER  19 

comfortable  with  the  heavy  feeling  that  he  had  left 
some  part  of  duty  undone. 

He  used  often  to  go  to  supper  at  the  rectory.  He 
felt  more  at  ease  there — less  big-jointed  and  clumsy 
than  almost  anywhere  else.  And  besides,  he  very  heartily 
enjoyed  the  good  things  he  had  to  eat  at  such  times,  for 
Deborah  set  a  very  poor  and  skimpy  table  at  his  uncle's 
house.  They  generally  had  preserved  ginger  and  thin 
sweet  cakes  at  these  suppers  at  the  rectory,  and  Jack 
used  sometimes  to  contrive  to  slip  a  couple  of  cakes 
into  his  pocket  to  nibble  after  he  got  home. 

Sometimes,  especially  if  there  were  visitors  present, 
the  good  old  rector  would  insist  upon  talking  to  Jack 
about  his  uncle  the  baronet,  or  about  Lady  Dinah 
Welbeck,  or  about  his  aunt  Lady  Arabella  Sutton. 
"  Indeed,"  he  would  maybe  say,  "  Jack's  poor  father  was 
a  very  learned  man,  a  very  learned  man.  His  pamphlet 
on  the  apostolic  succession  was  the  best  that  was  writ 
at  the  time  of  the  controversy.  'T  is,  methinks,  impos- 
sible for  a  man  to  be  so  perfectly  ripe  a  scholar  unless 
he  hath  good  blood  in  his  veins  such  as  that  of  the 
Ballisters  or  haply  of  mine  own.  Why  should  it  not 
be  so  ?  To  be  sure,  you  cannot  make  as  good  wine  out 
of  gooseberries  as  you  can  out  of  currants.  Mine  own 
father  used  often  to  say  to  me :  '  Andrew,  never  forget 
that  you  have  the  blood  of  Roger  Stetson  in  your 
veins.' " 

Jack  always  felt  a  certain  awkward  constraint  when 
the  rector  would  talk  in  this  way.  It  made  him  some- 
how feel  ashamed,  and  he  did  not  know  just  where  to 
look  or  what  to  answer. 

Sometimes  Mr.  Stetson  would  make  him  read  aloud 
in  Greek.  "  You  should  hear  him  read  'The  Frogs,' "  he 
would  maybe  say,  and  he  would  almost  thrust  a  copy 
of  Aristophanes  into  Jack's  not  very  willing  hand. 
Jack  would  read  a  page  or  two  in  a  perfunctory  sort  of 


20  JACK   BALLISTER'S   FOETUNES 

a  way,  while  the  rector  would  sit  smiling  and  tapping- 
his  finger-tips  on  the  table  beside  which  he  sat.  "  Thou 
hast  the  making  of  a  fine  scholar  in  thee,  Jack,"  he 
would  perhaps  say,  "and  't  is  a  vast  pity  thy  uncle 
Tipton  does  not  send  thee  to  school.  I  will  have  a  talk 
with  him  about  it  when  the  time  comes." 

Several  times  the  rector  spoke  to  old  Hezekiah  about 
his  nephew.  Once  he  walked  all  the  way  back  from 
church  with  the  old  merchant,  and  almost  into  the 
parlor.  But  nothing  ever  came  of  such  talks.  "  Hey !  '^ 
said  the  old  man ;  "  go  to  school  f  What  does  he  want 
togo  to  school  for?  "Well,  well !  I '11  see  to  it,  and  think 
it  over  by  and  by,"  and  there  the  matter  would  rest. 

Another  friend  whom  Jack  made  was  the  attorney 
Burton.  One  day,  as  Jack  was  walking  whistling  along 
the  street,  the  little  lawyer  came  running  out  of  his 
office  and  called  after  him  to  stop.  "  Master  Jack  I 
Master  Jack  !  stop  a  little  bit,"  he  cried  out.  "  Master 
Jack  Ballister! — I  have  a  word  or  two  to  say  to  you.'' 
He  had  run  out  bareheaded,  and  he  was  half  breathless 
with  his  haste  and  his  calling.  He  held  an  open  letter 
in  his  hand.  "  Who  d'  ye  think,  young  gentleman,'^ 
said  he,  still  panting  a  little,  "I  have  heard  from? 
Why,  from  your  uncle  Sir  Henry  Ballister,  to  be  sure. 
He  hath  writ  to  me  asking  about  you — how  you  are,, 
what  you  are  doing,  and  how  Master  Tipton  is  treating 
you.     What  shall  I  tell  him  I " 

"  Why,  you  may  tell  him,"  said  Jack,  "  that  I  do  very 
well." 

This  was  the  beginning  of  Jack's  acquaintance  with 
the  attorney  Burton.  Several  times  afterward  the  lit- 
tle lawyer  told  him  that  Sir  Henry  had  written  about 
him.  "  He  hath  a  mind,  methinks,"  said  the  attorney, 
"  to  be  more  particular  as  to  what  yom-  uncle  Tipton  is 
doing  for  you.  Indeed,  he  hath  asked  me  very  espe- 
cially about  what  he  does  for  you.     I  know  what  I 


JACK   BALLISTER  21 

shall  tell  him,  for  I  have  talked  to  Master  Stetson 
about  you,  and  he  tells  me  what  a  famous  scholard  you 
are.  But  harkee,  Master  Jack,  if  ever  you  have  need 
of  advice,  you  come  to  me,  for  so  Sir  Henry  advised  me 
to  say  to  you." 

Jack  stood  listening  to  the  little  man  with  a  feeling 
of  pleased  and  fatuous  gratification.  It  was  very  pleas- 
ant to  be  so  remembered  by  his  grand  relation.  "  Why, 
then,  I  take  it  very  kind  of  Sir  Henry,  Master  Burton, 
and  of  you,  too,  for  the  matter  of  that,"  said  he.  "  And 
if  ever  I  do  have  need  of  your  advice,  why,  I  will  come 
to  you  just  as  freely  as  you  give  me  leave  to  do." 

As  he  walked  away  down  the  street,  thinking  over 
what  the  attorney  had  said,  he  almost  wished  that  he 
had  some  definite  cause  of  complaint  against  his  uncle 
Hezekiah,  so  that  he  might  call  upon  the  aid  of  Sir 
Henry  and  the  attorney.  How  fine  it  would  be  to  have 
Sir  Henry  take  his  part !  He  fancied  to  himself  a  talk 
with  his  uncle  Hezekiah,  in  which  he  made  himself  per- 
haps say,  "  Sir,  you  shall  not  treat  me  so,  for  I  tell  you 
plain  that  there  are  those  now  to  take  my  part  against 
you,  and  that  it  is  not  just  a  poor  orphaned  boy  with 
whom  you  have  to  deal."  Boys  love  to  build  up  in  their 
imagination  such  foolish  scenes  and  fortunate  conver- 
sations that  never  happen.  Sometimes  such  f  ancyings 
seem  so  like  the  real  thing  that,  like  Jack,  one  almost 
forgets  that  they  are  not  really  likely  to  happen.  But 
by  and  by  the  time  came  when  Jack  really  did  appeal 
to  the  lawyer  and  when  he  really  did  come  to  an  under- 
standing with  his  uncle. 

That  spring  a  young  cooper  named  Dan  Williamson 
had  a  boat  that  he  wanted  to  sell.  It  had  belonged 
partly  to  his  brother,  who  had  died  during  the  fall  be- 
fore, and  Dan,  who  was  one  of  that  sort  who  always 
had  need  of  money,  was  very  anxious  to  sell  it.  Jack's 
great  desire  was  to   possess   a  boat  of  his  own.     It 


22  JACK   BALLISTER'S   FOETUNES 

seemed  to  him  that  Dan's  boat  was  exactly  the  one  that- 
would  best  suit  him.  He  used  to  think  with  a  keen 
and  \T.vid  delight  of  how  glorious  it  would  be  to  own 
Dan's  boat.  And  then  she  was  so  very  cheap.  If  the 
boat  were  his  he  would  give  her  a  fresh  coat  of  paint, 
and  name  her  the  Sea-gull.  If  he  could  only  get  twenty 
pounds  from  his  uncle  Hezekiah,  he  could  not  only  buy 
the  boat,  but  add  a  new  suit  of  sails. 

He  talked  so  often  to  Dan  about  the  boat  that  at  last 
the  cooper  began  to  believe  that  he  might  be  able  to  sell 
it  to  Jack.  "  She  's  the  cheapest  boat,"  said  Dan,  "  that 
was  ever  offered  for  sale  in  Southampton." 

"  I  don't  know  about  that,"  said  Jack;  "  but  I  do  be- 
lieve that  she  's  a  good  boat." 

"  Good ! "  said  Dan.  "  She  's  'the  best  boat  in  South- 
ampton to-day,  and,  what  is  more,  she  's  as  cheap  as 
the  dirt  under  yom'  feet.  You  'd  better  buy  her,  for 
you  '11  never  get  such  another  chance  as  long  as  you 
live." 

Jack  shook  his  head.  "I  do  believe  she  is  a 
good  boat,  Dan,"  he  said ;  "  but  how  shall  I  buy  a  boat 
without  money  to  buy  it  with  I  I  have  no  money  in 
hand,  and  am  not  like  to  have  any." 

"  Well,  well,"  said  Dan,  "  to  be  sure,  that 's  too  bad  " ; 
and  then,  after  a  little  space,  he  continued :  "  But  I  '11 
tell  you  what, — you  come  down  with  me,  and  I  '11  take 
you  out  in  her;  then  you  may  see  for  yourself  what 
a  fine  boat  she  is." 

"  I  '11  go  out  with  you,"  said  Jack ;  "  but  I  can't  buy 
her,  though.     I  wish  I  could." 

Then  they  went  off  together  down  to  the  cooper-shops 
where  Dan  kept  the  boat. 

Jack  helped  Dan  step  the  mast.  Then  they  pushed 
the  boat  off  beyond  the  end  of  the  shed.  As  the  sail 
filled,  Dan  put  down  the  helm,  and  brought  the  boat 
out  under  the  stern  of  a  bark  lying  at  anchor  a  little 


JACK   BALLISTER  23 

distance  from  the  shore.  The  watch  on  deck,  a  tipsy- 
looking  sailor  with  his  throat  wrapped  around  with  a 
woolen  stocking,  stood  looking  over  the  stern  of  the 
bark  and  down  at  them  as  they  sailed  by.  Jack 
looked  np  at  the  towering  hulk  above  him.  The 
name  of  the  bark  — the  Prophet  Elijah  — was  painted 
in  great,  fat  letters  across  the  stern.  At  one  side 
there  was  a  picture  of  the  prophet's  head,  with  his 
long  beard.  There  was  a  rushing  sound  of  water  un- 
der the  stern  of  the  vessel.  Then  they  were  out  in 
the  wide,  shining  harbor,  the  warm  air  blowing  mildly 
and  softly  about  them. 

"Look,  how  she  lies  up  to  the  wind,"  said  Dan 
Williamson;  "why,  I  do  believe  I  could  sail  her  straight 
into  the  wind's  eye  if  I  chose  to.  I  tell  'ee  what  't  is, 
Jack,  you  '11  never  find  such  another  chance  as  this  to 
get  what  you  want." 

"Maybe  I  won't  and  maybe  I  will,"  said  Jack;  "all 
the  same,  I  sha'n't  buy  her,  for  why,  I  have  no  money 
to  buy  her  with." 

"No  money!"  said  Dan  Williamson;  "why,  if  I  had  as 
much  money  as  belongs  to  you,  I  'd  give  up  coopering 
and  live  a  gentleman  all  my  life,  I  would.  Why  don't 
ye  go  and  ask  your  uncle  TijDton  for  eighteen  pound 
straight  and  fair  ?  Sure,  the  money 's  your  own,  and  not 
his.     Why  don't  ye  ask  him  for  it !" 

"Ask  him  for  it  ?  "  said  Jack.  "And  what  good  would 
that  do?  Asking  won't  do  any  good.  The  money  's 
mine,  sure  enough,  yet  I  can't  touch  a  penny  of  it  till  I 
am  of  age." 

"  'T  won't  do  any  harm  to  ask  him,  anyway,"  said  Dan 
Williamson.  "  Here,  you  come  and  take  the  tiller,  and 
see  for  yourself  how  close  up  she  sails." 

Jack  took  the  tiller,  and  then  they  sailed  along  for  a 
while  in  silence.  By  and  by  Dan  spoke  again.  "I  '11 
tell  you  what 't  is.  Jack,  if  I  was  you  I  'd  go  straight  to 


24  JACK   BALLISTEE'S   FOKTUNES 

Master  Burton,  I  would,  and  I  'd  ask  him  about  it.  What 
did  you  say  t'  other  evening  down  at  the  Grolden  Fish  ? 
Did  n't  you  say  that  he  told  you  to  come  to  him  if  ever 
you  wanted  anything  that  your  uncle  Tipton  would  n't 
give  you,  and  that  he  said  yom-  t'  other  uncle  that 's  a 
lord  would  get  it  for  you  ?  Well,  then,  why  don't  you 
go  to  him  and  ask  for  eighteen  or  twenty  pound? 
Wliat  you  said  was  true,  was  n't  it  I " 

"  Why,  yes,  't  was  true  enough,  as  far  as  that  goes," 
said  Jack. 

"  Well,  then,"  said  Dan  Williamson,  "  there  you  are." 

Jack  sat  for  a  little  while  in  silence,  then  he  spoke. 

"  I  tell  you  what  it  is,  Dan,  maybe  you  don't  believe 
what  I  told  you,  but  it  is  true  enough.  I  tell  you  what  — 
I  'm  going  to  go  to  Master  Burton  this  very  day,  and  ask 
him  about  what  you  say."  He  did  not  really  entertain 
any  hope,  however,  that  he  could  get  twenty  pounds 
from  his  uncle  Hezekiah. 

As  soon  as  he  came  ashore  again,  he  went  straight 
up  to  the  little  lawyer's  house. 

The  little  man  was  in  his  office — a  musty,  stuffy 
little  den  of  a  place,  smelling  of  stale  tobacco  smoke, 
and  set  around  with  dusty  cases  of  worn  and  yellow- 
backed  books  and  tin  boxes. 

The  attorney  sat  in  the  midst  of  the  litter  surround- 
ing him  like  a  little  gray  mouse.  He  had  black,  beady 
eyes,  a  long  nose,  and  a  thin,  leathery  face. 

He  sat  looking  with  his  little  twinkling  black  eyes  at 
Jack  as  he  stated  his  case.  "  Why,  as  for  your  fortune. 
Master  Jack,  I  must  needs  tell  you  plain  that  it  might  as 
well  be  locked  up  in  the  church  belfry  for  all  the  good  it 
may  do  you  now.  For  so  it  is  locked  up  in  your  father's 
will,  tight  and  fast  as  if  it  were  in  a  box,  and  your  uncle 
hath  the  keeping  of  it  for  you." 

"And  can  I  get  none  of  my  money  of  him,  then?" 
said  Jack. 


JACK   BALLISTER  25 

"  Why,  as  for  that,  I  don't  say  that,  neither,"  said  the 
little  lawyer.  "  It  may  be  a  hard  matter  to  get  it,  and  yet, 
after  all,  I  may  be  able  to  get  it  for  you.  I  '11  tell  yon 
what  to  do,  Master  Jack.  Gro  you  to  your  uncle  and  ask 
him  plain  and  straight  for  what  money  you  need.  How 
much  was  it  you  wanted  I " 

"  Well,  say  twenty  pounds,"  said  Jack. 

"Well,  then,  you  ask  him  for  twenty  j)ounds,  phiin 
and  straight,  and  if  he  says  you  na}^,  then  come  back 
to  me,  and  I  '11  see  what  I  can  do  for  you.  Sir  Henry 
hath  asked  me  to  look  after  you  a  trifle,  and  so  I 
will  do." 


CHAPTER  III 


JACK   AND   HIS   UNCLE 


JACK,  following  the  attorney's  advice,  had  made  up 
his  mind  to  ask  his  uncle  for  the  money  that  very 
night,  but  when  he  came  face  to  face  with  doing  it,  it 
was  very  hard.  They  were  sitting  together  over  their 
poor  frugal  supper,  and  the  old  miser's  utter  uncon- 
sciousness of  what  Jack  had  it  on  his  mind  to  say  made 
the  saying  of  it  very  hard.  At  last  he  suddenly  spoke. 
"  Uncle  Hezekiah,"  said  he. 

The  old  man  looked  up  sharply,  almost  as  though 
startled  at  the  sound  of  Jack's  voice.  He  did  not  say 
anything,  but  he  sat  looking  at  Jack  as  though  inviting 
him  to  continue. 

"Uncle  Hezekiah,"  said  Jack  again.  He  did  not 
know  in  just  what  words  to  frame  what  he  had  to  say. 
Then  he  continued:  "I  want  to — to  talk  to  you  about 
a  matter  of  business." 

"Hey!"  said  the  old  man,  "business!  business! 
What  d'  ye  mean  —  what  d'  ye  mean  by  business  ? " 

"Why,"  said  Jack,  "I  want  some  money  to  buy 
something.  I  went  to  see  Master  Burton  to-day,  and 
he  told  me  I  had  best  come  to  you  and  ask  you  for  it." 
G-radually  Jack  was  becoming  bolder  as  he  became 
accustomed  to  the  sound  of  his  own  voice.  "  Dan 
Williamson  hath  a  boat  for  sale,"  he  continued.  "  He 
wants  eighteen  pound  for  it,  and  if  I  had  twenty 
pound  it  would  be  just  enough  to  fit  her  up  as  I  would 


26 


JACK   AND   HIS    UNCLE  27 

like  to  have  lier.  I  went  and  talked  to  Master  Burton, 
and  he  told  me  I  had  best  come  to  yon  and  ask  you  for 
the  money." 

The  old  man  stared  blankly  at  Jack,  his  lean  jaw 
hanging  gaping  with  speechless  surprise.  "  Why ! 
why !  what  's  all  this  f "  he  said,  finding  his  voice  at 
last.  "  Twenty  pound !  Why,  I  do  believe  you  're  gone 
clean  clear  crazy.  Twenty  pound !  What 's  Roger  Bur- 
ton got  to  do  with  my  giving  you  twenty  pound,  I  'd 
like  to  know  I  You  '11  not  get  a  f  arden,  and  that  's  the 
long  and  the  short  of  it.  Master  Burton,  indeed !  What 
business  is  it  of  his,  I  'd  like  to  know  ? "  He  sat  looking 
at  Jack  for  a  little  while,  and  then  he  slowly  resumed 
his  interrupted  supper  again. 

Jack  sat  leaning  back  in  his  chair,  with  his  hands  in 
his  breeches'  pockets,  looking  across  the  table  at  his 
uncle.  His  heart  was  swelhng  with  a  feeling  of  very 
choking  and  bitter  disappointment  and  anger.  It 
seemed  to  him  that  he  had  not  expected  much,  but 
now  that  his  uncle  had  denied  him,  his  disappointment 
was  very  bitter.  He  watched  his  uncle  as  the  old  man 
continued  eating  in  silence.  "Very  well,"  said  he  at 
last,  "  then  I  know  what  I  '11  do.  I  '11  go  back  to  Master 
Burton  again.  He  told  me  what  to  do,  and  that  if  you 
said  me  nay  I  was  to  go  back  to  him  again.  He  says 
that  Sir  Henry  Ballister  has  been  w^-iting  to  him  about 
me,  asking  how  you  treated  me  and  what  you  did  for 
me,  and  he  told  me  if  you  would  not  give  me  what  I 
asked  for,  I  was  to  go  back  to  him,  and  he  'd  write  to 
Sir  Henry  and  tell  him  all  about  it,  and  that  he  'd  see 
if  something  could  n't  be  done  on  my  account." 

Old  Hezekiah  looked  up  again.  "  Sir  Henry  Bal- 
lister ? "  said  he.  "  What 's  he  been  writing  to  Eoger 
Burton  about,  I  should  like  to  know  ?  What 's  he  got 
to  do  with  it !  He  's  not  your  guardeen,  is  he  f  I  'm 
your  guardeen,  and  the  guardeen  of  your  money  as 


28  JACK   BALLISTER'S   FORTUNES 

well.  As  for  Sir  Henry  Ballister,  why,  he  's  got  no 
more  to  do  with  you  than  the  man  in  the  moon."  Then 
he  went  on  eating  again,  and  again  Jack  sat  watching 
him  in  silence.  In  a  little  while  Hezekiah  finished  his 
supper,  chasing  the  fatty  gravy  around  and  around  his 
plate  with  the  point  of  his  knife.  Then  he  laid  down 
his  knife  and  fork,  pushed  away  his  plate,  and  arose 
from  the  table. 

"  Very  well,"  said  Jack,  breaking  the  silence,  "  we  '11 
see  about  all  this  business.  I  tell  you  what  I  'm  going 
to  do.  I  'm  going  to  write  to  Sir  Henry  Ballister  my- 
self, and  tell  him  about  the  way  I  'm  treated  by  you.  You 
never  give  me  a  farthing  to  spend,  and  as  for  being 
your  own  flesh  and  blood — why,  I  might  as  well  be  a 
dog  in  this  house  as  to  be  your  own  kin.  You  keep  all 
my  money  and  use  it  as  youi*  own,  and  yet  you  don't 
speak  six  words  to  me  in  a  month."  Jack  was  dimly 
surprised  at  his  own  boldness  in  speaking.  Now  that 
he  had  made  a  beginning,  it  seemed  very  easy  to  say 
his  say  and  to  speak  out  all  that  lay  on  his  mind. 
"  I  'm  not  going  to  be  treated  like  a  dog  by  you  or  by 
anybody,"  he  said. 

"  Yes,  I  do  speak  to  you,  too,"  said  Hezekiah,  stop- 
ping at  the  door.  "  What  d'  ye  want  me  to  say  to  you, 
anyhow  ? "  he  added.  "  Don't  I  give  you  all  you  want 
to  eat  and  drink,  and  never  charge  you  a  farden  for  it? 
What  more  d'  ye  want  than  that  ?  You  're  the  most 
ungratefulest  nevy  that  ever  lived,  so  you  are,  to  talk 
to  me  that  way." 

Then  he  went  out  of  the  door,  and  along  the  dark 
passageway,  and  Jack  heard  him  enter  the  office,  and 
shut  the  door  behind  him.  Then  he  began  eating  his 
supper  again.  He  felt  very  bitter  and  very  angry 
against  the   old  man. 

So  he  sat  eating  for  a  long  time  in  lonely  silence, 
broken  only  by  the  sound  of  Deborah  clattering  now 


JACK   AND   HIS   UNCLE  29 

and  then  among  the  pots  and  pans  in  the  kitchen  be- 
yond. Suddenly  he  heard  the  office  door  open  again, 
and  the  sound  of  his  uncle's  steps  coming  back  along 
the  passage.  He  reached  the  door,  and  Jack  heard  his 
fingers  fumbling  for  the  latch  in  the  darkness,  and  then 
the  sharp  click  as  it  was  raised.  Then  the  door  opened, 
and  the  old  man  came  in.  He  stood  for  a  moment,  and 
then  came  straight  across  to  the  table  where  Jack  sat. 
He  stood  leaning  with  both  hands  upon  the  table. 
Jack  did  not  know  exactly  what  to  expect.  He  drew 
himself  back,  for  the  first  thought  that  came  into  his 
mind  was  that  the  old  man  was  going  to  attack  him 
personally.  "  Lookee,  Jacky,"  said  old  Hezekiah,  at  last, 
"  I  've  been  thinking  of  that  there  twenty  pound  you 
was  speaking  of.  Well,  Jacky,  you  shall  have  that 
twenty  pound,  you  shall." 

"  What  d'  ye  mean.  Uncle  Hezekiah  ?  "  said  Jack. 

"  Why,"  said  Hezekiah,  "  I  mean  what  I  said.  You 
shall  have  that  twenty  pound,  Jacky.  I  've  been  think- 
ing about  it,  and  what  you  said,  and  I  'm  going  to  give 
you  what  you  want.  I  can't  give  it  to  you  just  now, 
for  twenty  pound  is  a  deal  of  money,  and  I  have  n't 
that  much  to  give  you  straight  away.  But  I  '11  give  it 
to  you  after  a  while,  I  will,  Jacky.  I  '11  give  it  to  you 
— let  me  see — I  '11  give  it  to  you  on  Monday  next. 
Will  that  be  time  enough  ?  " 

"  Why,  yes,  it  will,"  said  Jack,  "  if  you  really  mean 
what  you  say." 

"Aye,"  said  the  old  man,  "  I  mean  it  sure  enough ; 
but  don't  you  say  anything  more  to  Roger  Burton,  will 
ye  ?  Just  you  come  to  me  when  you  want  anything, 
and  don't  you  go  to  him.  I  mean  to  be  a  good,  kind 
uncle  to  you,  Jacky,  I  do,"  and  he  reached  out  a  lean, 
tremulous  hand,  and  pawed  at  Jack,  who  drew  in- 
stinctively away  from  his  approach.  "  I  do,  Jacky,  I 
do,"  said  the  old  man,  almost  whining  in  his  effort  to 


30  JACK   BALLISTEE'S   FORTUNES 

be  affectiouate.  "But  don't  you  be  writing  to  Sir 
Henry  Ballister  about  me,  will  you,  Jacky !  " 

"  I  won't  write  to  him  if  you  '11  treat  me  decently," 
said  Jack. 

"Aye,  aye,"  said  the  old  man,  "I  mean  to  do  that, 
Jacky,  I  do.  Only  don't  you  be  talking  any  more  to 
Lawyer  Burton.  I  '11  give  you  that  twenty  pound. 
I  '11  give  it  to  you  on — on  Monday  next,  I  will." 

Then  he  turned  and  went  away  again.  Jack  sat 
looking  after  him.  He  felt  very  uncomfortable.  He 
could  not  understand  why  the  old  man  had  yielded  so 
suddenly.  He  did  not  believe  at  all  that  he  had 
yielded,  or  that  he  would  give  him  what  he  asked  for. 
He  felt  sure,  in  spite  of  his  uncle's  words,  that  he  had 
been  put  off  with  a  barren  promise  that  would  never 
bear  fruit. 


CHAPTER   IV 

CAPTAIN   BUTTS 

ON  the  evening  of  the  next  day  a  number  of  boys  were 
gathered  at  the  end  of  the  wharf  in  front  of  Hezekiah 
Tipton's  warehouses.  They  were  throwing  stones  into 
the  water.  Jack  went  out  along  the  wharf  to  where 
they  were.  They  were  all  of  them  boys  younger  than 
himself. 

"  Well,  if  that 's  all  the  better  you  can  throw,"  said 
Jack,  "  to  be  sure  you  can't  throw  well.  Just  you  watch 
me  hit  yon  anchor-buoy  out  there  with  this  pebble." 

A  brig  had  come  into  the  harbor  during  the  day,  and 
now  lay  at  anchor  some  distance  oif  from  the  shore. 
The  sails  were  half  reefed  and  hung  limp  from  the 
yards.  The  men  were  washing  down  the  decks,  and 
from  the  shore  you  could  see  them  busy  about  the  decks, 
and  every  now  and  then  a  gush  of  dirty  water  as  it  ran 
through  the  scupper-holes.  A  boat  was  just  about  put- 
ting oft'  from  the  brig.  Presently  some  one  climbed  down 
over  the  side  of  the  vessel  and  into  the  boat,  and  then 
it  was  pushed  oft.  Jack  stopped  throwing  stones  and 
stood  looking.  The  boat  came  rowing  straight  toward 
the  wharf  where  he  and  the  other  boys  stood.  It  pulled 
in  around  the  back  of  a  sloop  that  lay  fast  to  the  end  of 
the  wharf,  and  was  hidden  from  sight.  Jack  jumped 
down  from  the  wharf  to  the  deck  of  the  sloop,  and 
went  across  to  see  who  was  in  the  boat.  It  had  come  in 
under  the  side  of  the  sloop,  and  two  of  the  men  were 

31 


32  JACK   BALLISTER'S   FOETUNES 

holding  it  to  its  place,  grasping  the  chains.  They  looked 
lip  at  Jack  and  the  other  boys  as  they  came  to  the  rail  of 
the  sloop  and  looked  down  at  them.  There  were  two  men 
in  the  stern  of  the  boat.  One  was  just  about  to  climb 
aboard  the  sloop,  the  other  sat  still.  He  who  still  sat  in 
his  place  had  a  knit  cap  pulled  down  half  over  his  ears. 
He  held  a  pipe  in  his  mouth  and  he  had  gold  earrings 
in  his  ears.  The  other,  who  was  about  to  climb  aljoard 
the  sloop,  was  plainly  the  captain  of  the  brig.  He  was 
short  and  thick-set.  He  wore  a  rough  sea  coat  with 
great  flapped  pockets  and  brass  buttons.  One  of  the 
pockets  bulged  out  with  a  short  pistol,  the  brass  butt  of 
which  stuck  out  from  under  the  flap.  He  wore  canvas 
petticoat-breeches  strapped  to  his  waist  by  a  broad 
leather  belt  with  a  big  flat  brass  buckle.  His  face  and 
as  much  of  the  short  bull-neck  as  Jack  could  see  were 
tanned  red-brown  like  russet  leather,  and  his  cheeks 
and  chin  were  covered  with  an  unshaven  beard  of  two 
or  three  days'  growth.  He  stood  up  in  the  boat,  with 
his  hand  resting  on  the  rail  of  the  sloop. 

"  Do  you  know  where  Master  Hezekiah  Tipton  lives  I" 
he  asked  in  a  hoarse,  rattling  voice. 

"Why,  yes,  I  do,"  said  Jack.  "  This  is  his  wharf,  and 
I  'm  his  nephew." 

"  Well,  then,"  said  the  man,  "  I  wish  you  'd  show  me 
to  him." 

As  Jack  accompanied  the  other  up  the  stony  street  to 
his  uncle's  house,  he  turned  to  look  at  his  companion 
every  now  and  then. 

"  Where  do  you  hail  from,  captain  !  "  said  he. 

"  I  hail  from  the  land  where  every  man  minds  his 
own  business,"  said  the  other  in  his  rattling  voice. 
"  Where  do  you  hail  from,  my  hearty  1 " 

Jack  did  not  know  just  what  to  reply  at  first.  "  Oh^ 
well,"  he  said,  "  if  you  don't  choose  to  give  me  a  civil 
answer,  why,  then  you  need  n't." 


CAPTAIN   BUTTS  33 

After  that  they  walked  in  silence  till  they  reached 
the  house.  Jack  looked  into  the  office,  but  Hezekiah  was 
not  there.  "If  you  '11  come  into  the  parlor,"  said  he, 
"  I  '11  go  and  tell  him  you  're  here,  only  I  don't  know  who 
you  are,  to  be  sure.  He  opened  the  door  of  the  room 
as  he  spoke,  and  showed  the  captain  into  the  darkened 
parlor.  It  always  smelled  damp  and  musty  and  unused, 
and  the  fireplace  had  a  cold,  dark  look  as  though  no 
comforting  fire  had  ever  burned  there. 

"  Tell  Master  Tipton  't  is  Captain  Butts  of  the  Arundel 
wants  to  see  him,"  said  the  stranger,  laying  aside  his 
hat  with  its  tarnished  gilt  lace  and  wiping  his  partly 
bald  head  with  the  corner  of  his  red  neckerchief.  All 
the  time  he  was  looking  strangely  about  him  at  his  un- 
familiar surroundings. 

There  was  the  sound  of  a  knife  and  fork  rattling  against 
a  plate  in  the  distance,  and  Jack,  following  the  sound, 
went  along  the  passage  to  the  room  beyond,  where  he 
knew  Hezekiah  was  sitting  at  supper. 

"There  's  a  man  in  the  parlor,"  said  Jack,  "would 
like  to  see  you.  He  says  his  name  's  Captain  Butts  of 
the  AriindeV' 

Hezekiah  was  looking  at  Jack  as  he  spoke.  He  laid 
down  his  knife  and  fork  immediately,  and  pushed  back 
his  chair  and  arose.  Jack  followed  him  back  to  the 
parlor.  He  stood  outside  of  the  door,  looking  in.  The 
stranger  arose  as  Master  Tipton  came  in,  holding  out 
to  the  old  America  merchant  a  big,  brown,  hairy  hand 
with  a  hard,  horny-looking  palm. 

"  How  d'  ye  do.  Master  Tipton  ?  "  said  he  in  his  rat- 
tling voice.     "  I  be  mightily  glad  to  see  you." 

"WeU,  then,  Master  Captain  Butts,"  said  Hezekiah, 
giving  him  a  limp,  reluctant  hand,  "I  be  mightily 
glad  to  see  you,  too, —  more  glad  than  you  are  to  see  me, 
like  enough,  for  I  've  been  looking  for  you  these  three 
days   past,  and   wondering   where   was   the   Arundel. 


34  JACK  BALLISTEE'S   FOETUNES 

• 

There  be  them  nineteen  servants  down  at  the  'Duck 
and  Doe'  that  should  have  been  took  away  yesterday 
morning.  Their  lodging  at  the  inn  is  a  matter  of  ten 
pence  a  day  each.  Now,  who  do  you  think  's  to  pay  for 
that  there ! " 

"  Well,  well,  Master,"  said  the  other,  "  't  were  n't  no 
fault  of  mine  that  I  were  n't  here  yesterday.  Wind  and 
tide  be  to  blame,  so  whatever  ye  lose  ye  may  just  charge 
up  ag'in'  them.  We  can't  sail  without  wind,  can  we  ? 
and  we  can't  sail  ag'in'  the  tide,  can  we  ?  As  for  the 
men,  why,  the  sooner  I  get  my  clearance  papers  and  the 
men  aboard  the  better 't  will  suit  me.  The  tide  turns  at 
eight  o'clock,  and  if  the  wind  comes  up,  as 't  is  like  to  do, 
why,  I  '11  drop  out  and  away  with  the  turn  o'  the  water." 

Master  Hezekiah  looked  around.  Jack  was  still 
standing  in  the  doorway.  "You  go  in  and  get  your 
supper,  Jacky,"  said  he,  and  then  he  got  up  and  closed 
the  door,  and  Jack  went  back  into  the  supper-room. 

All  the  time  that  Jack  sat  at  his  meal  old  Deborah 
scolded  him  ceaselessly  for  being  so  late. 

"'T  is  always  so,"  said  she,  her  voice  growing  shriller 
and  shriller.  "  You  be  always  late,  and  think  of  nobody 
but  your  own  self." 

"  No,  I  'm  not  always  late,  neither,"  said  Jack ;  "  I  was 
n't  late  to  breakfast,  or  to  supper  either,  yesterday." 

"  But  you  did  n't  come  home  to  dinner  at  all,"  said  old 
Deborah,  "  and  I  kept  it  for  you,  and  I  kept  it  for  you,  and 
the  'taties  all  like  wax  in  the  oven,  and  not  fit  to  eat." 

"  I  did  n't  want  any  dinner,"  said  Jack.  "  I  had  some- 
thing to  eat  down  at  the  wharf." 

"Well,"  said  old  Deborah,  "you  might  just  as  well 
have  been  late  as  not  to  come  at  all,  for  I  kept  a-waiting 
and  a-waiting  for  you  till  it  was  all  dried  up  and  wasted — 
aye,  all  wasted,  and  it  what  many  a  pore  body  'u'd  'a' 
been  glad  enough  to  'a'  had,  too." 

In  the  interval  of  her  scolding  Jack  could  occasion- 


CAPTAIN   BUTTS  35 

ally  hear  the  distant  rumbling  of  Captain  Butts's  voice 
in  the  office. 

It  grew  darker  and  darker  in  the  twilight  gloom  of 
the  kitchen,  until  Jack  could  hardly  see  the  food  upon 
his  i^late. 

"  I  wish  you  'd  bring  a  candle,  Deborah,"  said  he,  "  I 
<?an't  see  to  find  the  way  to  my  own  month." 

"  A  candle  ! "  said  Deborah ;  "  if  you  'd  come  to  your 
supper  in  time  you  'd  not  need  a  candle  to  see.  Now 
yon  may  just  go  without." 

"  Very  well,"  said  Jack,  "  I  don't  care,  for  I  'm  done." 

"  Then,  if  you  're  done,  you  may  go  down  to  the 
pump  and  fetch  back  some  water." 

Jack  took  the  pail  and  went  off  with  it.  He  was  gone 
a  long  time,  and  the  night  was  fairly  settled  when  he 
came  stumbling  back  into  the  kitchen,  slopping  the 
water  upon  the  steps  and  the  floor. 

"  Why,"  said  Deborah,  I  thought  you  was  never  com- 
ing. Your  uncle  's  asking  for  you.  He  's  over  in  the 
office  now,  and  he  wants  to  see  you  there." 

"  Very  well,"  said  Jack,  "  if  I  'd  known  that,  may  be 
I  'd  hui-ried  and  may  be  I  would  n't." 

In  the  office  he  found  Captain  Butts  seated  at  the 
tall  desk,  with  a  bottle  of  Hezekiah's  old  Jamaica  rum 
before  him.  They  had  been  looking  over  some  papers, 
and  the  Captain  had  evidently  been  helj)ing  himself  very 
freely  to  the  rum.  He  smelt  strong  of  the  liquor.  He 
was  leaning  over  the  desk,  his  chin  resting  upon  his  fists. 
He  looked  up  at  Jack  with  his  keen  gray  eyes  from 
under  his  bushy  eyebrows.  "  Is  this  the  boy?  "  said  he. 
Hezekiah,  who  sat  opposite  to  his  ^dsitor,  nodded  with- 
out speaking. 

"  Come  hither,  my  hearty,"  said  Captain  Butts,  beckon- 
ing to  Jack.  Jack  came  forward  slowly.  "And  so  ye  're 
a  hard  one  to  manage,  be  yef  By  blood!  if  I  had 
ye  aboard  the  Arundel  for  a  few  days,  I  'd  manage  ye." 


36  JACK   BALLISTEE'S   FORTUNES 

"  Who  says  I  'm  hard  to  manage  ?  "  demanded  Jack, 
indignautlj^ 

"  That  does  your  good  uucle,"  said  the  Captain.  As 
he  spoke  he  reached  out  suddenly,  and  catching  Jack 
by  the  arm  held  him  tight,  feeling  up  and  down  the 
length  of  his  arm,  "  Ye  be  well  put  together,  my  hearty," 
said  he ;  "  ye  'd  make  a  valuable  servant  in  the  tobacco- 
fields,"  and  he  winked  tipsily  as  he  spoke.  "  Now,  be- 
ing as  ye  're  so  hard  to  manage,  how  'd  you  like  it  if 
you  was  to  take  a  cruise  to  the  Americas  with  old  Benny 
Butts?" 

Jack  could  smell  the  rum  heavy  upon  the  captain's 
breath,  and  he  saw  that  he  was  a  little  tipsy.  He  jerked 
his  arm  away  from  the  other's  grasp. 

"I  am  well  enough  off  here  as  I  am,  thank  you, 
Master  Captain,"  said  he,  "  and  I  don't  choose  to  go  to 
the  Americas  at  all." 

The  Captain  burst  out  laughing.  He  fetched  a  thump 
upon  the  desk  before  him  that  made  the  bottle  of  rum 
and  the  tuml>ler  hop  and  jingle.  "  Harkee  to  that, 
now ! "  said  he,  "  he  don't  choose  to  go  to  the  Ameri- 
cas," and  he  gave  another  roar  of  laughter. 

Master  Hezekiah  sat  looking  on  at  the  two,  resting 
Ms  forehead  upon  his  lean  fingers,  his  hand  shading  his. 
eyes  from  the  light  of  the  candle.  Suddenly  he  cut 
into  the  talk.  "  Come,  come.  Captain  Butts  ! "  said  he 
tartly,  "  let  there  be  an  end  to  this  !  Sure  you  forget 
what  you  're  saying.  Come  hither,"  said  he  to  Jack. 
Jack  came  around  to  him,  and  the  old  man  lifted  the 
lid  of  the  desk  and  brought  out  a  bundle  of  papers  and 
a  little  bag  of  money.  He  counted  out  a  few  coins, 
which  he  made  into  a  little  pile.  Then  he  untied  the 
tape  and  chose  a  paper  from  among  the  others.  Jack 
stood  watching  him,  "  Here  be  a  list  of  the  America 
servants  down  at  the  Golden  Fish,"  said  Hezekiah, 
"and  this" — here  he  chinked  the  money  between  his 


CAPTAIN   BUTTS  37 

fingers  as  he  gave  it  to  Jack  — "  is  fifteen  shillings  ten- 
pence.  I  want  yon  to  do  something  for  me,  Jacky.  I 
want  you  to  go  down  to  the  Golden  Fish  and  pay  Land- 
lord Evans  his  account,  and  then  give  this  release  to 
Dockray,  who  hath  the  America  men  in  charge.  After 
that  I  want  you  to  take  them  down  to  the  wharf  and 
deliver  them  over  to  Captain  Butts,  and  get  his  receipt. 
D'  ye  understand  ? " 

"  AVliy,  yes,  I  do,"  said  Jack  ;  "  but  why  do  you  want 
me  to  do  this  when  the  crimp  can  serve  you  so  much 
hetter  than  I  ? "  He  could  not  understand  why  his 
imcle,  who  had  never  before  made  any  demands  upon 
him  should  suddenly  prefer  such  a  request  as  this. 

"Why,"  said  Hezekiah,  "you  ask  me  for  money 
t'  other  day,  did  n't  ye?  Well,  then,  if  you  want 
money  you  must  begin  to  do  something  for  to  earn  it. 
What  I  want  you  to  do  now  is  to  take  these  servants 
down  and  deliver  them  over  to  Captain  Butts," 

"  Oh,  well,"  said  Jack,  "  I  'm  willing  enough,  but  I 
don't  see  why  you  should  choose  me  to  do  it.  What 
am  I  to  do  with  them  ?     Tell  me  again." 

"  You  're  to  take  them  down  to  the  wharf,  d'  ye  un- 
derstand !  Then  Captain  Butts  will  give  you  a  receipt 
for  'em.  Then  you  '11  have  nothing  more  to  do  with  the 
business." 

"Very  well,"  said  Jack;  "methinks  I  understand. 
And  now  if  the  Captain  is  ready  to  go,  why,  I  am,  too." 

As  he  and  Captain  Butts  walked  together  down  the 
street  in  the  darkness.  Jack  said  again :  "  I  don't  see 
why  he  wants  me  to  take  his  servants  down  to  the 
wharf.     He  never  asked  such  a  thing  of  me  before." 

Captain  Butts,  for  reply,  burst  out  laughing,  and 
fetched  him  a  clap  on  the  shoulder  that  jarred  him 
through  and  through.  "  Well,  I  do  suppose  you  '11  find 
out  some  day  why  he  sends  you  on  his  errands,"  he  said. 


CHAPTER   V 


KIDNAPPED 


AT  the  end  of  the  court  the  two  parted,  the  Captain 
-^^  going  on  down  to  the  wharf  and  Jack  up  to 
the  Grolden  Fish.  He  found  the  crimp  and  gave  him 
Hezekiah's  release,  and  then  the  redemptioners  imme- 
diately began  to  make  themselves  ready.  There  was 
something  pitiful  in  the  meagerness  of  their  prepara- 
tion. One  or  two  of  them  had  nondescript  bundles  tied 
up  in  handkerchiefs,  and  one  had  a  pair  of  stockings 
wrapped  up  in  a  piece  of  dirty  paper.  Beyond  this 
they  had  nothing  at  all  to  take  with  them  to  the  new 
world  to  which  they  were  bound.  But  they  seemed  to 
borrow  very  little  trouble  on  that  score.  They  were 
very  restless  and  turbulent  at  the  near  prospect  of  sail- 
ing. They  had  somehow  contrived  to  obtain  some 
liquor,  and  two  or  three  of  them  were  more  than  half 
drunk. 

The  crimp  brought  them  out  into  the  com't  of  the 
inn  and  arranged  them  in  some  sort  of  order,  two  by 
two,  by  the  dim  light  of  the  lantern.  They  jostled  and 
pushed  one  another,  and  leered  in  the  lantern  light  at 
Jack  as  he  stood  looking  at  them  helplessly.  "  I  '11 
never  be  able  to  take  them  down  to  the  wharf  by  my- 
self," said  he. 

"  Oh,  you  '11  be  able  to  take  us,"  said  a  big,  bull-necked 
fellow ;  "  a  baby  'd  lead  us  wherever  he  chose  for  to 
go,"  and  then  they  all  laughed. 


38 


KIDNAPPED  39 

"Well,  I  don't  know,"  said  the  crimp,  shaking  his 
head  as  he  looked  them  over ;  "  like  enough  I  'd  better 
go  with  you  as  far  as  the  wharf.  I  don't  know  why  he 
should  have  sent  you  to  take  'em,  anyhow.  Lookee  ! " 
said  he  to  the  huddled  line  of  servants,  in  a  suddenly- 
changed  voice ;  "  I  won't  have  none  of  your  tricks,  d'  ye 
understand  ?  D'  ye  see  this  1 "  and  he  fetched  a  blud- 
geon out  of  his  pocket  and  showed  it  to  them.  "  The 
first  man  as  tries  any  of  his  tricks,  I  knocks  him  on  the 
head,  d'  ye  understand  ?  " 

"  Why,  master,"  said  one  of  the  men,  "  you  would  n't 
hurt  us,  would  you  ?     We  be  your  lambs." 

"  Never  you  mind,"  said  the  crimp,  shaking  his  head. 
"  Don't  you  go  trying  any  of  your  tricks  on  me.  Come 
along  now,  march  ! " 

"  Hm-rah  for  the  Grolden  Fish  and  Johnny  Waddels  ! " 
cried  out  one  of  the  men. 

The  others  gave  a  broken  and  confused  cheer  as  they 
marched  away  out  of  the  court,  the  crimp  walking  be- 
side the  first  couple,  and  Jack  coming  after  to  keep  a 
lookout  upon  them.  They  marched  along  for  a  while, 
first  down  one  street  and  then  another  until  they  had 
come  to  the  water-front.  The  wind  was  blowing  chilly. 
The  bull-necked  fellow  had  begun  to  sing.  They  walked 
along  for  some  little  distance  and  then  crossed  the  street. 
Here  the  store-houses  stood  dark  and  deserted  as  they 
passed  by  them.  At  last  they  came  to  the  wharf,  across 
which  the  night  wind  swept  without  shelter. 

"  Well,"  said  the  crimp,  "  I  '11  leave  you  here.  'T  is 
no  use  my  going  any  further." 

"  Yes,"  said  Jack,  "  I  can  manage  them  very  well  now 
by  myself,  I  suppose." 

"  I  '11  just  wait  imder  the  lee  of  the  shed  here,"  said 
the  crimp,  "  till  I  see  you  're  all  right." 

"Very  well,"  said  Jack.  "Come  along,"  said  he  to 
the  men  as  they  stood  shivering  in  their  thin,  ragged 


40  JACK   BALLISTEE'S   FOETUNES 

clothes.  The  bull-necked  fellow  had  ceased  his  dis- 
cordant singing.  At  Jack's  bidding  they  now  marched 
out  along  the  wharf.  There  were  lights  out  in  the  dark- 
ness at  the  end  of  the  wharf,  where  the  sloop  lay  black 
and  shapeless  in  the  night.  When  Jack  came  to  where 
the  light  was  he  found  two  dark  figures  standing  wait- 
ing for  him  on  the  wharf.  One  of  them  was  Captain 
Butts,  the  other  was  the  man  in  the  knit  cap,  who  now 
carried  a  lantern  hanging  over  his  arm.  There  were 
two  or  three  men,  two  of  them  also  with  lanterns,  stand- 
ing on  the  deck  of  the  sloop.  Jack  knew  that  the  boat 
that  had  brought  the  Captain  off  from  the  brig  was 
lying  in  the  darkness  beyond,  for  he  could  hear  the 
sound  of  voices,  and  then  the  sound  of  the  rattle  of 
an  oar. 

Captain  Butts  had  twisted  his  handkerchief  well  up 
about  his  throat.  "  Well,"  said  he,  "  I  thought  you  was 
never  coming." 

"  I  came  as  soon  as  I  could,"  said  Jack. 

"Just  bring  the  men  out  to  the  boat,  across  the 
sloop  here,"  said  the  Captain ;  and  at  Jack's  bidding  the 
men,  one  after  another,  jumped  down  from  the  wharf 
to  the  deck  of  the  sloop  below.  Jack  followed  them, 
and  the  Captain  and  the  man  with  the  lantern  followed 
him.  "  Where 's  your  list  f "  said  the  Captain,  and  then, 
as  Jack  gave  it  to  him :  "  Hold  the  lantern  here,  Dyce. 
That 's  it."  He  held  the  list  to  the  dull  light,  referring 
to  it  as  he  counted  the  shivering  transports  who  stood 
in  line.  "  Sixteen — seventeen  — eighteen — nineteen  — 
nineteen  all  told.  That 's  right.  Now,  then,  look  alive, 
my  hearties,  and  get  aboard  as  quick  as  you  can ! " 

Jack  stood  with  his  hands  in  his  pockets  and  his 
back  to  the  chill  night  breeze.  The  wharf  and  the  sloop, 
deserted  in  the  night,  seemed  a  singularly  dark  and  lonely 
background  to  the  dimly  moving  figures.  The  water, 
driven  by  the  wind,  splashed  and  dashed  noisily  around 


KIDNAPPED  41 

the  end  of  the  wharf.  One  by  one  the  redemptioners 
clambered  chunsily  over  the  rail  of  the  sloop  and  down 
into  the  boat  alongside,  stumbling  over  the  thwarts  in 
the  darkness  and  settling  themselves  amid  the  growling 
and  swearing  of  the  sailors.  "Are  you  all  right  ?  "  asked 
the  Captain. 

"  All  right,  sir,"  said  Dyce. 

Suddenly  the  Captain  turned  sharply  toward  Jack. 
"Now,  then,"  said  he,  "you  get  aboard  too!"  Jack 
gaped  at  him.  "  You  get  aboard  too ! "  said  Captain 
Butts  again. 

"  What  do  you  mean  ? "  said  Jack. 

"  I  mean  that  you  're  going  aboard  too,"  said  the  Cap- 
tain, and  as  he  spoke  he  reached  out  and  caught  Jack 
by  the  collar.  "  That 's  why  you  were  sent  here,"  said  he, 
"and  that 's  what  I  'm  bound  to  do.  I  'm  bound  to  take 
you  to  the  Americas  with  me." 

Then  Jack  saw  it  all  in  a  flash.  He  stood  for  one 
stunned  instant,  and  then  he  began  struggling  fiercely 
to  loosen  himself  from  the  Captain's  grasp  upon  his  col- 
lar. The  next  instant  he  felt  himself  jerked  violently 
backward  and  he  heard  the  Captain's  voice  saying: 
"  You  get  into  the  boat  down  there !  You  '11  do  as  I 
tell  you,  if  you  know  what 's  good  for  you ! " 

Jack  twisted  and  struggled  desperately  and  franti- 
cally, but  still  the  Captain  held  him  in  a  grip  like  a 
vise.    "  Let  me  go ! "  gasped  Jack.     "  Let  me  go ! " 

"  Into  the  boat,  I  tell  ye ! "  he  heard  the  Captain's 
voice  growling  in  his  ear,  and  at  the  same  time  he  found 
himself  flung  forward  violently  toward  the  rail  of  the 
sloop.  The  boats  and  the  dark  waters  were  just  below. 
He  saw  dimly,  his  sight  blurred  with  the  fury  of  his 
struggles,  the  dark  figures  of  the  men  in  the  boat  below. 
He  flung  out  his  feet  against  the  rail,  bracing  himself 
against  the  Captain's  hold ;  at  the  same  time  he  clutched 
hold  of  the  stays.     "  Here,  Dyce,  loose  his  hand  there," 


42  JACK   BALLISTER'S   FORTUNES 

said  the  Captain's  voice,  panting  with  his  struggles. 
"  The  young  villain !  What  d'  ye  mean,  anyhow  ?  " 

The  man  with  the  knit  cap  sprang  forward  at  the  Cap- 
tain's bidding,  and,  still  holding  the  lantern,  began  to 
pluck  Jack's  fingers  loose  from  the  stays.  Then  sud- 
denly Jack  screamed  out,  "  Help  ! — Help!  —  Help!" 
three  times,  and  at  the  same  time  he  kicked  backward 
violently  against  the  Captain's  shins. 

"  You  will,  will  you ! "  wheezed  the  Captain.  As  he 
spoke  he  jerked  Jack  violently  backward.  Jack  had 
just  time  to  see  a  whMing  flash  in  the  light  of  the  lan- 
tern. Then  there  came  a  deafening,  blinding  crash. 
Ten  thousand  sparkling  stars  flew  whirling  around  and 
around  him.  He  felt  a  hot  stream  shoot  down  across 
his  face,  and  he  knew  that  it  was  blood.  There  was 
another  crash,  this  time  duller  and  more  distant,  then 
a  humming  that  droned  away  into  stillness — then 
nothing. 

"  By  blood !  Captain,"  said  Dyce,  "  I  believe  you  've 
killed  the  boy." 

The  Captain  thrust  the  pistol  with  which  he  had 
struck  Jack  back  again  into  his  pocket.  "  The  young 
\dllain ! "  he  said,  panting  with  his  late  efforts.  "  He  '11 
kick  me,  will  he  ?  And  he  'd  'a'  had  the  town  down  on 
us  if  I  had  n't  shut  his  noise."  He  lowered  do^^m  upon 
Jack's  figure  lying  deathly  still  and  in  a  dark  heap  on 
the  deck.  Dyce  bent  over  the  senseless  form,  holding 
the  lantern  to  the  face.  Jack's  eyes  were  upturned. 
His  legs  and  body  twitched;  his  head  was  streaming 
with  blood  and  his  face  was  bloody.  Captain  Butts 
stooped  over  him.  "  Oh !  he 's  all  right,"  said  he  roughly ; 
"  he  '11  come  to  by  and  by ;  he  's  only  stunned  a  trifle. 
Get  him  aboard  and  be  quick  about  it !  There 's  some- 
body coming  along  the  wharf  now.  Here ;  here  's  his 
hat.     Catch  it  there." 


"*HE  'LL  COME  TO  BY  AND  BY;  HE  'S  ONLY  STUNXED  A  TKIFLE,' 

SAID  THE  CAPTAIN." 


CHAPTER   VI 


ABOARD   THE   AEUNDEL 


FOR  a  long  while  Jack  was  very  light-headed  and 
sick.  He  did  not  seem  to  have  any  strength.  It 
seemed  to  him  that  several  days  passed  while  he  lay 
in  his  berth,  now  partly  waking,  now  partly  sleeping. 
When  he  was  partly  awake  his  mind  seemed  to  wander, 
and  he  could  not  separate  the  things  he  now  saw  from 
the  things  he  had  seen  before.  Both  seemed  grotesque 
and  distorted.  It  seemed  to  him  that  his  father  was 
nearly  always  with  him.  He  had  a  line  of  Greek  to  con- 
strue, but  he  could  never  get  the  words  correctly.  He 
kept  trying  and  trying  to  get  the  words  in  their  proper 
order,  but  always,  when  he  would  get  the  line  nearly 
correct,  it  would  fall  to  pieces,  and  he  would  have  to 
begin  all  over  again.  He  felt  that  his  father  was  very 
angry  with  him,  and  that  he  was  driving  him  on  to  com- 
plete the  line,  and  he  felt  that  if  he  could  only  finish 
the  task  he  would  have  rest  and  be  well  again.  But 
there  were  three  words  that  never  would  fit  rightly  into 
the  line,  and  he  never  could  make  them  fit  into  it. 
With  these  several  fancy ings  there  commingled  the 
actual  things  about  him.  His  father  seemed  to  him 
to  be  waiting  and  waiting  for  him  to  complete  his 
task ;  but  at  the  same  time  he  saw  the  sloping  deck  of 
the  vessel  and  the  berths  upon  the  other  side,  and  could 
feel  the  brig  rising  and  falling  and  rolling  upon  the  sea. 
There  was  ever  present  in  his  ears  the  sound  of  creak- 


43 


44  JACK   BALLISTEK'S   FOKTUNES 

ing  and  groaning  and  rattling  and  sliding,  and  there 
were  men  talking  together  and  smoking  their  pipes,  the 
pungent  smell  of  the  tobacco  helping  to  make  him  feel 
very  sick.  If  he  could  only  fit  these  words  together  into 
the  line,  then  his  father  would  go  away,  and  he  would 
be  well  and  could  go  up  on  deck.  Oh,  how  his  head 
ached  !  He  wished  he  could  get  away  from  these  words 
that  would  not  fit  into  the  sentence. 

Then  the  night  would  come,  and  he  would  be  partly 
asleep.  Sometimes  he  would  lie  half  dreaming  for  an 
hour  or  more,  and  in  the  darkness  the  things  of  his 
fancy  were  very  real. 

Very  soon  after  he  had  been  brought  aboard  he  had 
a  dim,  distorted  vision  of  Dyce,  the  mate,  coming  with 
a  lantern  to  where  he  lay,  bringing  somebody  along  with 
him.  It  seemed  to  him  that  the  two  men  had  leaned 
over  him  talking  about  him  while  a  number  of  other 
people  had  stood  near.  The  man  who  had  come  with 
the  mate  must  have  been  Sim  Tucker,  a  thin,  little 
man,  with  a  long,  lean  chin,  who  was  a  barber-leech. 
Jack  had  felt  some  one  trim  his  hair,  and  then  do  some- 
thing that  had  hurt  him  very  much.  It  seemed  to  be 
a  grotesque  nightmare  that  the  barber-leech  had  sewed 
up  his  head.  Afterward  a  bandage  was  tied  around 
his  head,  and  then  he  felt  more  comfortable. 

Jack  knew  very  well  that  it  had  all  been  a  dream, 
and  he  was  always  surprised  to  wake  up  and  find  the 
bandage  around  his  head. 

Now  and  then  Sim  Tucker  would  come  and  speak  to 
him.     "  How  d'  ye  feel  now '?"  he  would  maybe  say. 

"  Why,"  said  Jack,  "I  would  be  all  well  if  my  father 
would  only  go  away.  But  I  can't  construe  that  sentence." 

"  You  can't  what  ? " 

"  I  can't  get  those  Grreek  words  right,  and  my  father 
won't  go  away," 

"  Why,  your  father  says  they  're  all  right." 


ABOARD   THE   ARUNDEL  45 

"Does  he?" 

"  Aye." 

"  But  there  are  those  four  words.     They  won't  fit." 

"  Why,  yes,  they  fit  all  right.  Don't  you  see  f "  Then 
it  seemed  to  Jack  that  they  did  fit  into  the  sentence, 
and  for  a  little  while  he  was  more  easy  in  his  mind. 

After  a  while  he  began  to  get  better,  and  his  head  got 
clearer.  Then  one  day  he  was  so  well  that  he  was  able 
to  crawl  up  to  the  deck.  He  had  not  eaten  anything 
at  all  and  was  very  weak.  He  climbed  up  the  com- 
panion way  and  stood  with  his  head  just  above  the 
scuttle.  He  looked  aft  almost  along  the  level  of  the 
deck.  In  the  distance  was  the  rise  of  the  poop-deck, 
with  a  man  at  the  wheel  just  under  the  over-hang.  The 
first  mate,  Dyce,  still  wearing  his  knit  cap  pulled  down 
half  over  his  ears,  was  walking  up  and  down  the  poop- 
deck,  smoking.  With  the  rise  and  fall  of  the  vessel, 
Jack  could  catch  every  now  and  then  a  glimpse  of  the 
wide,  troubled  ocean,  moving  and  heaving  with  cease- 
lessly restless,  crawling  waves,  cut  keenly  and  blackly 
at  the  sharp  rim  of  the  horizon  against  the  gray  sky. 
Every  now  and  then  there  was  a  great  rush  of  au-  from 
the  vast  hollow  sails  overhead,  that  swept  back  and 
forth,  back  and  forth  across  the  wide,  ^vindy  sky.  The 
sailors  looked  at  him  as  he  stood  there  with  the  ban- 
dage wrapped  around  his  head.  He  began  to  feel 
very  sick  and  dizzy  with  the  motion  of  the  vessel, 
and  presently  he  crept  down  below,  back  to  his  berth 
again. 

"  Be  you  feeling  better  ? "  said  one  of  the  men,  coming 
to  him. 

"  Yes,  I  think  I  am,"  said  Jack,  "  only  it  makes  me 
sick  and  faint-like  to  stand  up." 

"  Well,  you  've  been  pretty  sick,"  said  the  man,  "  and 
that 's  the  sacred  truth.  I  thought  the  Captain  had 
killed  you  for  sure  when  I  saw  him  hit  you  that  second 


46  JACK   BALLISTEE'S   FOKTUNES 

crack  with  the  pistol.  I  thought  he  'd  smashed  yoiir 
head  in." 

Several  of  the  other  men  had  gathered  about  his  berth 
and  stood  looking  down  at  him.  Jack  wished  they 
would  go  away.  He  lay  quite  still,  with  his  eyes  shut, 
and  by  and  by  they  did  leave  him. 

He  felt  very  lonely  and  deserted.  A  great  lump  rose 
in  his  throat  when  he  thought  of  all  that  had  hapjDened 
to  him.  "I  have  not  a  friend  in  the  world,"  he  said  to 
bimself,  and  then  the  hot  tears  forced  themselves  out 
from  under  his  eyelids. 

When  next  he  opened  his  eyes  he  saw  that  Sim  Tucker 
was  standing  over  him.  "How  d'  ye  feel  now?"  said 
the  barber-leech. 

"  Oh,  I  feel  better,"  said  Jack  irritably.  "  I  wish 
you  'd  go  away  and  let  me  alone." 

"  Let  me  look  at  your  head,"  said  the  leecher.  He 
unwound  the  bandage  deftly  with  his  long,  lean  fingers. 
"  Aye,"  said  he,  "  ye  're  getting  along  well  now.  To- 
morrow I  '11  take  out  them  stitches.  He  must  have  hit 
ye  with  the  cock  of  the  pistol  to  make  a  great,  big, 
nasty  cut  like  that. 


CHAPTER   VII 


ACKOSS   THE   OCEAN 


THE  next  morniug  Jack  was  up  on  deck  again  for 
a  while,  feeling  very  much  better  and  stronger  than 
the  day  before.  In  the  afternoon  Mr.  Dyce  came  down 
into  the  steerage  and  told  him  that  the  Captain  wanted 
to  see  him. 

Jack,  although  he  was  now  out  of  his  bunk,  was 
still  very  weak,  and  not  yet  accustomed  to  the  roll- 
ing heave  and  pitch  of  the  vessel  at  sea.  He  followed 
the  mate  along  the  deck  in  the  direction  of  the  round- 
house, balancing  himself  upon  the  slanting,  unsteady 
plane,  now  and  then  catching  at  the  rail  or  at  the 
.shrouds  or  stays  to  steady  himself.  Everything  was 
.still  very  fresh  and  new  to  him,  so  that,  even  though  his 
mind  was  heavy  with  leaden  apprehension  concerning 
the  coming  interview  with  Captain  Butts — the  thought 
which  weighed  down  his  spirit  with  dull  imaginings — 
even  though  his  mind  was  full  of  this,  the  freshness 
and  newness  of  everything  was  yet  strong  in  his  con- 
sciousness— the  tumultuous  noise  of  the  sea,  the  sun 
shining  bright  and  clear,  the  salt  wind  blowing  strong 
and  cold.  Every  now  and  then  a  cresting  wave  would 
flash  out  a  vivid  whitecap  in  the  sunlight  against  the 
profound  green  of  the  limitless  ocean ;  the  sky  was  full  of 
clouds,  and  purpling  shadows  dappled  the  wide  stretch 
of  ever-moving  waters.  The  brig,  plowing  its  way 
aslant  to  leeward,  plunged  every  now  and  then  with  a 


48  JACK   BALLISTEK's   FORTUNES 

thunderous  clap  of  white  foam  into  the  oncoming  wave, 
and  the  broad  shadows  of  sail  and  rigging  swept  back 
across  the  sunlit  deck  with  the  backward  and  forward 
sweep  of  the  masts  against  the  sky  high  overhead.  Of 
all  these  things  Jack  was  strongly  conscious  as  he 
walked  along  the  deck,  wondering,  with  that  dull  and 
heavy  apprehension,  what  Captain  Butts  was  going  to 
say  to  him. 

Two  men  on  the  poop-deck  were  heaving  the  log, 
one  of  them  keeping  tally  with  a  slate;  a  third,  with  a 
red  bandana  handkerchief  knotted  about  his  head,  stood 
gripping  the  wheel,  holding  the  yawing  vessel  steadily 
to  its  course.  The  man  with  the  slate  looked  at  Jack  as 
he  came  along  the  deck,  clinging  to  the  rail  for  support. 

Captain  Butts  was  waiting  in  the  round-house,  lean- 
ing with  elbows  upon  the  table.  A  bottle  of  rum  and 
a  half -emptied  tumbler  stood  on  the  table  at  his  elbow, 
and  the  cabin  was  full  of  the  strong,  pungent  odor  of 
the  liquor.  A  chart,  blackened  and  dirty  as  with  long 
use,  lay  spread  out  on  the  table.  Part  way  across  it 
stretched  a  black  line  which  the  Captain  had  drawn  — 
probably  the  supposed  course  of  the  vessel — for  Captain 
Butts  sailed  by  dead  reckoning.  He  looked  up  from 
under  his  brows  as  Jack  entered,  frowning  until  his  partly 
bald  forehead  swelled  with  knotted  veins,  but  he  did 
not  immediately  say  anything.  Jack  had  come  forward 
and  stood  at  the  end  of  the  table.  The  mate,  who  lin- 
gered close  to  the  door,  had  taken  out  his  pipe  and  was 
filling  it  with  tobacco.  Jack  did  not  know  how  pale 
and  thin  he  was,  how  sick  he  looked ;  he  was  conscious 
only  of  the  weakness  that  seemed  not  only  to  make  him 
unsteady  upon  his  legs,  but  to  unnerve  him  of  all 
strength  of  spirit.  As  he  stood  there  now,  facing  the 
Captain,  he  felt  an  hysterical  choking  in  his  throat,  and 
he  swallowed  and  swallowed  upon  the  hard,  dry  lump 
that  seemed  to  be  there. 


ACROSS   THE   OCEAN  49 

"Well,  my  hearty,"  said  the  Captain,  breaking  the 
silence  at  last  with  his  hoarse,  rattUng  voice,  "  well,  my 
hearty,  you  got  your  dose  that  time,  or  else  I  'm  mis- 
took. By  Blood ! "  he  continued  with  sudden  savage- 
ness,  "  I  '11  teach  you  to  play  with  Benny  Butts,  I  will, 
and  to  kick  at  his  shins.  By  Blood !  When  you  're  deal- 
ing with  me,  you  're  not  dealing  with  your  poor  old  un- 
cle as  ye  can  bully  and  blatherskite  as  you  please.  By 
Blood !  I  '11  break  your  back  if  you  go  trying  any  of 
your  airs  with  me,  I  will."  And  as  his  anger  rose  with 
ins  own  words,  he  opened  his  eyes  wide  and  glared  upon 
his  victim.  Jack  did  not  dare  to  reply.  He  stood  look- 
ing down,  holding  tight  to  the  edge  of  the  table  and 
striving  to  balance  himself  to  the  lurching  of  the  ship. 

"  Your  uncle  told  me  all  about  you,  he  did,"  said  Cap- 
tain Butts,  beginning  again ;  "  how  you  threatened  him 
with  the  law  and  tried  to  make  mischief  atwixt  him 
and  your  t'  other  folks.  He  told  me  how  you  stole  his 
money  away  from  him  for  to — " 

"I  never  stole  a  farthing  in  my  life,"  said  Jack 
hoarsely. 

"  D'  ye  give  me  back  talk?"  roared  the  Captain,  smiting 
his  palm  upon  the  table.  "  By  Blood !  if  ye  answer  me 
any  of  your  back  talk,  I  '11  clap  ye  in  irons  as  quick  as 
look  at  ye.  I  say  ye  did  steal  money  from  your  uncle." 
Again  he  glared  at  Jack  as  though  defying  him  to  reply, 
and  Jack,  conscious  of  his  utter  powerlessness,  did  not 
venture  to  answer.  "I  say  ye  did  steal  money  from  your 
uncle,"  repeated  the  Captain,  "and  that  again  and  again. 
He  might  have  sent  ye  to  jail  had  he  been  so  minded, 
and  maybe  he  would  ha'  done  so  only  for  the  shame  o' 
the  thing.  Now  I  tell  ye  what  you  're  going  to  do.  You 
're  going  to  the  Americas  to  be  put  to  work  under  a 
master  who  '11  keep  you  out  o'  mischief  for  five  years. 
That 's  what  you  're  going  to  do.  After  you  've  served 
out  your  five  years  in  the  Americas  under  a  master, 


50  JACK   BALLISTEE'S   FOETUNES 

why,  then,  maybe,  you  '11  know  how  to  behave  yourself 
arter  you  get  back  home  again." 

The  brig  gave  a  sudden  heaving  lurch  that  sent  the 
bottle  and  glass  sliding  across  the  table.  The  Captain 
caught  them  with  a  quick  sweep  of  his  hand,  while 
Jack,  losing  his  balance,  partly  fell,  partly  sat  abruptly 
down  upon  the  seat  beside  him.  He  was  up  again 
almost  instantly  and  stood  once  more  holding  by  the 
side  of  the  table. 

"  Now,  you  listen  to  what  I  say  You  behave  your- 
self decent  while  vou  're  aboard  this  here  brig,  and  vou  '11 
be  treated  decent,  but  you  go  a  makin'  any  trouble  for 
me,  and  by  Blood !  I  '11  clap  you  in  irons,  I  will,  and 
I  '11  lay  ye  down  in  the  hold,  and  there  ye  '11  stay  till  we 
drop  anchor  in  Yorktown.     D'  ye  hear  that  ? " 

Jack  nodded  his  head. 

"  Well,  then,  if  ye  hear  me,  why  don't  ye  answer  me?" 

"  Yes,  sir,"  said  Jack. 

"  Very  well,  then,  you  go  and  remember  what  I  've 
said." 

Jack,  so  dismissed,  went  out  of  the  round-house  and 
into  the  wide,  bright  sunlight  again.  Nor  was  it  un- 
til he  had  returned  half  way  back  across  the  slanting 
deck  that  anything  like  a  full  realization  of  his  fate 
came  upon  him.  Then  suddenly  it  did  seize  upon  him, 
gripping  him  almost  like  a  physical  pang.  He  stopped 
short  and  caught  at  the  foremast  stays  under  that  sud- 
den grip  of  despair,  and  bent  leaning  over  the  rail  of 
the  ship.  Then,  in  an  instant  the  sky  and  the  ocean 
blurred  together  and  were  lost  in  the  blinding  flood, 
and  hot  tears  went  raining  down  his  face  in  streams. 
He  stood  there  for  a  long  time  facing  the  ocean  and 
crying.  No  one  knew  what  he  was  doing,  and  he  was 
as  much  alone  as  though  he  stood  all  by  himself  in  the 
midst  of  the  empty  universe,  instead  of  aboard  a  brig 
with  footsteps  passing  around  him  and  the  grumbling 


ACROSS   THE   OCEAN  51 

growl  of  men's  voices  as  tliey  talked  together  sounding 
in  his  ears. 

It  had  seemed  to  Jack  at  that  time,  when  he  stood 
there  crying  out  into  the  face  of  the  sea  and  the  sky,  as 
though  life  had  no  hope  and  no  joy,  and  as  though  he 
never  could  be  happy  again.  It  was  not  so,  however, 
and  it  never  is  so.  We  grow  used  to  every  sorrow  and 
trouble  that  comes  to  us.  Even  by  the  next  day  he  had 
begun  to  grow  accustomed  to  the  thought  of  his  fate. 
He  awoke  to  an  immediate  consciousness  of  it,  and  all 
day  it  stood  there,  a  big,  looming  background  to  the 
passing  events  of  his  life,  while  he  helped  the  other  re- 
demptioners  wash  down  the  decks,  pattering  about  in 
the  wet  with  his  bare  feet  in  the  slushing  slop  of  water ; 
all  the  while  he  stood  leaning  over  the  rail,  dumbly  joy- 
ing in  the  consciousness  of  the  sweep  and  rush  of  wind 
and  water  —  looking  out  astern  of  the  vessel  at  the 
wake  that  spread  away  behind,  over  which  hovered 
and  dipped  and  skimmed  the  little  black  Mother  Carey's 
chickens.  In  all  the  things  of  his  life  it  was  thus  present 
with  him,  but  he  did  not  again  suffer  a  despair  so  poign- 
ant and  so  bitter  as  had  struck  him  down  that  time  he 
had  stood  there  crying  out  toward  the  sky  and  the 
ocean  with  his  back  to  the  ship's  company.  So  it  is 
that  time  so  quickly  wears  away  the  sharp  edges  of 
trouble,  until  it  grows  so  dull  and  blunted  that  it  no 
longer  hurts. 

The  crew  had  come  somehow  to  know  something  of 
Jack's  history.  The  first  day  he  was  out  on  deck  after 
a  spell  of  stormy  weather  into  which  the  Arundel  sailed, 
Tom  Roberts,  the  carpenter,  asked  him  if  he  had  not 
an  uncle  as  was  a  lord.  "  He  's  a  baronet,"  said  Jack, 
and  Roberts  said  he  knowed  he  was  summat  of  the 
kind.  The  same  day,  as  Jack  was  standing  in  line  with 
the  others  waiting  for  his  dinner  to  be  served  out  to 


52  JACK   BALLISTEK'S   FORTUNES 

Mm,  the  carpenter  passed  close  to  him  with  a  wink. 
"  Yon  come  over  along  o'  we,"  he  said,  "  and  yon  shall 
have  a  taste  o'  grog  with  yonr  victnals,"  and  Jack,  after 
a  hesitating  moment,  had,  with  a  feeling  of  gratification 
and  i^leasnre,  followed  him  over  to  the  forecastle  scuttle, 
where  a  part  of  the  crew  sat  eating  in  the  sunshine  that 
shone  aslant  under  the  foresail.  After  that  he  nearly 
always  messed  with  the  crew,  and  by  the  end  of  the 
voyage  it  had  become  a  regularly  established  thing  for 
him  to  do  so. 

Some  of  the  crew  had  either  lived  in  the  Colonies,  or 
had  sailed  from  one  to  the  other  in  coasting  vessels,  and 
Jack  learned  much  about  his  future  home  from  them. 
Roberts  himself  had  lived  for  two  years  as  ship-car- 
penter in  Boston,  in  the  province  of  Massachusetts,  and 
one  of  the  men,  named  Dred  —  Christian  Dred — had  lived 
for  a  while  in  North  Carolina  with  Blackbeard,  the  fa- 
mous pu'ate.  He  had  been  one  of  the  pirate's  men,  and 
had  sailed  with  the  renowned  freebooter  in  his  famous 
ship,  the  Queen  Anne's  Revenge. 

During  the  voyage  Jack  became  better  acquainted 
with  Dred  than  with  any  one  aboard  the  Arundel^  and 
before  they  had  reached  Virginia  the  two  had  become 
very  intimate.  Dred  was  a  silent,  taciturn  man, 
speaking  but  rarely  to  any  one  and  saying  what  he  had 
to  say  in  as  few  words  as  possible.  But  he  seemed 
pleased  with  Jack's  friendship.  He  questioned  Jack 
much  as  to  his  former  life,  and  in  return  told  a  good 
deal  about  himself.  He  said  he  had  left  Blackbeard  the 
year  before  and  had  surrendered  upon  the  King's  Procla- 
mation of  Pardon.  He  always  carried  his  pardon  about 
with  him  rolled  up  in  oil-skin  and  hung  about  his  neck 
by  a  bit  of  string,  and  he  showed  it  to  Jack  one  day, 
unrolling  the  oil-skin  very  carefully  and  gingerly,  and 
then  rolling  it  up  again  with  just  as  particular  care  as 
he  had  opened  it.     He  told  Jack  that  after  he  had  sm*- 


ACROSS   THE   OCEAN  53 

reDcIered  to  the  Pardon,  Blackbeard  and  others  of 
the  pirates  had  also  surrendered.  He  said  that  Black- 
beard  was  now  living  on  a  farm  down  at  Bath  Town, 
in  North  Carolina,  and  had  married  a  fine  young  "gell" 
of  sixteen  or  thereabouts.  He  once  told  Jack  that  he 
had  begun  his  "  h —  cruising,"  as  he  called  it,  when  he 
had  sailed  from  New  York  in  a  "  Red  Sea  Trader "  in 
'95,  and  that  ever  since  then  he  had  "smelled  brimstone." 

(The  Red  Sea  Traders,  it  may  be  explained,  were  those 
who  carried  supplies  of  stores,  chiefly  of  rum  and  gun- 
powder, to  the  pirates  who  then  so  infested  the  west 
coast  of  Africa,  exchanging  their  commodities  for 
plunder  captured  by  those  freebooters.) 

Dred  told  Jack  that  he  was  only  eighteen  years  old 
when  he  had  sailed  in  the  Red  Sea  trade.  "  Not  much 
older  than  you  be  now,"  he  added. 

Once,  when  Dred  was  overhauling  his  gunny-bag,  he 
b)rought  out  a  string  of  a  dozen  or  so  jingling  coins 
hung  on  a  bit  of  silver  wire.  He  held  the  trinket  out 
at  arm's  length.  "  D'  ye  see  this  here  string  o'  money?" 
said  he;  "I  gave  that  to  a  Spanish  gell  once  down  in 
Port  Royal,  Jamaicy,  and  what 's  more,  I  took  it  off  of 
lier  neck  again  arter  she  had  died  of  yellow  fever,  and 
no  one  else  'Id  go  nigh  her." 

Jack  grew  to  like  Dred  very  heartily.  He  did  not 
think  of  him  as  being  a  red-handed  and  wicked  pirate. 
It  did  not  seem  to  him  that  his  new  friend  was,  after 
all,  very  different  from  other  men — excepting  that  he 
had  had  very  wonderful  adventures  happen  to  him. 

And  yet  Dred  was  indeed  a  red-handed  pirate. 

It  was  toward  the  latter  part  of  the  voyage  that  he 
told  Jack  the  story  of  the  taking  of  the  English  ship 
that  Blackbeard  afterward  used  as  the  flag-ship  of  his 
pirate  fleet,  and  which  became  so  famous  under  the 
name  of  the  Queen  Amiens  Revenge.  Dred's  was  almost 
the  most  important  part  in  that  tragedy.     He  told  the 


54  JACK   BALLISTEE'S   FORTUNES 

story  almost  naively,  and  did  not  at  all  seem  to  appre- 
ciate the  significance  of  what  he  had  done. 

They — the  pirates  —  had,  he  said,  been  crnisiug  in  the 
West  Indies.  Then  they  sailed  northward  until  they 
came  to  Charleston.  (Here  he  told  incidentally  how 
they  had  blockaded  the  town  for  over  a  week,  stopping 
and  searching  all  incoming  and  outgoing  vessels,  and 
how  they  had  even  gone  up  boldly  into  the  town  in 
search  of  a  chest  of  medicine.)  After  they  had  left 
Charleston,  they  had,  he  said,  cruised  away  off  shore 
with  two  sloops  and  a  bark  which  they  had  taken. 
They  "  made  no  purchase,"  as  he  phrased  it,  until  one 
morning  they  sighted  a  sail,  which  proved  to  be  an 
armed  ship  of  some  six  or  seven  hundred  tons  burden, 
bound  apparently  for  the  Chesapeake  Capes. 

When  they  had  come  to  within  hailing  distance  of 
the  vessel  they  ordered  her  to  heave  to.  But  she 
would  not,  and  there  was  some  exchange  of  shots  be- 
fore she  would  finally  surrender.  The  ship  had  only 
one  passenger  aboard,  a  young  Virginia  gentleman,  Mr. 
Edward  Parker,  who  had  been  to  college  in  England 
and  who  was  now  returning  home,  having  finished  his 
education.  Dred  said  that  the  supercargo,  on  being 
threatened  by  Blackbeard,  told  the  pirates  that  the 
young  gentleman  had  in  his  charge  a  valuable  chest  of 
money  and  of  goldsmiths'  bills  of  exchange.  On  hear- 
ing this  Blackbeard  and  two  or  three  of  the  pirates  ran 
aft  to  the  cabin,  only  to  find  that  the  young  gentleman 
had  locked  himself  in  and  refused  to  come  out. 

After  some  parleying  the  pirates  tried  to  break  in  the 
door,  but  it  was  braced  from  within,  and  the  young 
gentleman  at  once  began  firing  at  them  through  the 
panels.  Two  of  the  pirates  were  shot.  "  One  on  'em," 
said  Dred,  "was  Abraham  Dolling,  and  he  was  shot 
that  bad  through  the  neck  that  we  had  to  hale  him  off 
by  the  legs,  and  he  died  a  little  bit  after  just  at  the 
bottom  of  the  poop  ladder." 


ACROSS   THE   OCEAN  55 

His  own  part  in  the  tragedy  that  followed  Dred  told 
somewhat  thus : 

"  Seein'  as  how  we  was  makin'  nothing  of  it  at  all  by 
the  way  we  was  doing,  I  climbs  up  on  the  poop-deck, 
thinking  maybe  to  get  a  sight  of  my  young  gentleman 
through  the  sky-light.  But  no ;  he  had  blocked  up  the 
sky-light  with  mattresses  from  the  captain's  berth.  So 
then  I  went  across  the  poop-deck  to  the  stern  falls. 
The  boat  had  been  shot  away  from  the  lee  davit  by 
our  fire,  and  the  lines  hung  loose  from  the  falls  over 
the  stern.  I  lashed  two  on  'em  together  and  let  my- 
self down  from  the  davits  with  one  hand,  holding  my 
pistol  with  t'  other.  I  eased  myself  to  one  side  until 
I  was  low  enough,  and  then  I  peeped  in  at  the  stern 
window.  There  I  could  see  my  young  gentleman  off 
beyond  in  the  captain's  cabin  standing  close  by  the 
door,  and  I  can  see  him  now  as  plain  as  I  can  see  this 
here  hand  o'  mine.  He  had  pulled  a  couple  of  sea  chists 
to  the  door,  and  he  had  a  plank  from  the  captain's  berth 
set  agin  'em  and  propped  agin  the  braces  of  the  table. 
He  was  in  his  shirt  sleeves,  and  he  had  a  pistol  in  each 
hand.  The  captain  o'  the  ship  was  a'  talkin'  to  him 
from  t'  other  side  of  the  door,  telling  him  he  'd  better 
gin  up  and  surrender  the  money,  and  I  could  hear  my 
young  gentleman  swearing  by  all  that  was  holy  that  he 
would  never  gin  up  the  money.  He  had  his  head  turned 
to  one  side,  and  he  did  n't  see  me,  so  I  crawled  in 
through  the  window.  But  I  'd  no  more  'n  set  foot  on 
deck  than  all  on  a  sudden  he  wheels  around  like  a  flash, 
and  afore  I  knowed  what  he  was  at — Bang !  — he  fires 
his  pistol  fair  for  my  head.  I  felt  the  wind  of  the  ball 
and  it  smashed  into  a  chiny  closet  just  behind  me. 
Then,  seeing  he  had  missed  me,  he  ups  with  t'  other 
pistol  and  arter  that 't  was  either  him  or  me.  So  I  let 
fly,  and  down  he  went  all  of  a  heap  acrost  the  chist 
afore  the  door." 

"  Was  he  dead  ? "  asked  Jack. 


56  JACK   BALLISTEK'S   FORTUNES 

"  I  think  he  were,"  said  Dred.  "  Leastways  he  was 
dead  afore  we  could  get  him  out  of  the  cabin." 

Dred  told  this  story  to  Jack  one  afternoon  as  they 
were  sitting  together  up  under  the  lee-forecastle  rail,  and 
then  he  showed  him  the  pardon  in  the  oilskin  bag  hung 
around  his  neck. 

In  the  intimacy  between  the  two  Jack  talked  much 
to  Dred  about  his  own  prospects,  and  his  new  friend  ad- 
vised him  to  submit  to  his  fate  with  patience.  "  Arter 
all,"  he  said,  "  five  year  be  n't  so  werry  long — not  nigh 
as  long  as  death.  And  then  you  '11  see  a  deal  o'  the 
world,  and  arter  that  you  goes  back  home  agin,  an' 
there  ye  be,"  and  the  illogical  words  brought  a  good 
deal  of  comfort  to  Jack. 


CHAPTEE  VIII 

TO   THE   END    OF   THE   VOYAGE 

ON  a  long  sea  voyage  you  come  to  lose  all  sense  of 
time.  One  day  melts  and  blends  into  the  other  so 
that  you  can  hardly  tell  them  apart.  They  stretch  along 
into  weeks,  and  the  weeks,  perhaps,  into  months  which 
can  neither  be  called  long  nor  short,  but  only  just  a 
monotonous  reach  of  time. 

The  only  thing  that  brings  its  change  to  the  cease- 
less monotony  are  the  changes  that  happen  in  the 
weather.  Twice  they  had  a  spell  of  heavy  weather 
during  the  voyage;  the  first  time,  a  few  days  after  Jack 
had  become  well  enough  to  be  about  on  deck.  Jack  was 
very  seasick,  and  so  were  nearly  all  of  the  transports. 

It  was  quite  a  heavy  storm,  lasting  for  three  or  four 
days,  and  at  one  time  Jack  thought  that  the  brig  must 
really  be  in  danger.  As  he  lay  prone  in  his  bunk  his 
heart  quaked  with  every  tumultuous  lift  of  the  vessel. 
Some  of  the  crew  were  in  the  forecastle  beyond,  and 
the  deep  sound  of  their  talk  and  now  and  then  a  burst 
of  laughter  came  to  him  where  he  lay.  He  did  not  see 
how  they  could  be  so  indifferent  to  the  loud  and  inces- 
sant creaking  and  groaning  of  the  ship's  timbers,  alter- 
nated now  and  then  with  the  noise  of  distant  thumping 
and  bumping,  and  always  the  gurgling  rush  of  water,  as 
though  it  were  bursting  through  the  straining  timbers 
and  streaming  into  the  hold.  It  seemed  to  him  some- 
times as  though  the  vessel  must  capsize,  so  tremendous 


58  JACK  BALLISTEK'S   FOKTUNES 

was  the  mountainous  lift  and  fall  of  the  fabric,  and  so 
strenuous  the  straining  of  its  timbers.  Sometimes  he 
would  clutch  tight  hold  of  the  box-like  side  of  his  bunk 
to  save  himself  from  being  j^itched  out  bodily  upon  the 
deck.  The  steerage  became  a  horrible  pit,  where  the 
transports  rolled  about  stupefied  with  sickness,  and 
when,  by  and  by,  he  himself  began  to  recover,  it  be- 
came impossible  for  him  to  bear  it. 

So  the  afternoon  of  the  second  day  of  the  storm  he 
crawled  up  to  the  decks  above.  The  level  stretch  lay 
shining  with  sheets  of  drifting  wet.  Jack  stood  cling- 
ing dizzily  to  the  shrouds  looking  about  him.  A  number 
of  the  crew  were  strung  out  along  the  yard-arm  high 
aloft,  reefing  the  fore-topsail,  clinging  with  feet  and 
hands  to  the  lines  and  apparently  indifferent  to  the  vast 
rush  of  the  wet  wind  and  the  gigantic  sweep  of  the  un- 
certain foothold  to  which  they  clung.  The  hubbub  of 
roaring  wind  and  thundering  waters  almost  stunned 
Jack  as  he  stood  clinging  there.  The  voice  of  Dyce 
shouting  his  orders  through  a  trumpet  from  the  quarter- 
deck seemed  to  be  upborne  like  a  straw  on  that  vast 
and  tremendous  sweep  of  uproar.  One  of  the  crew 
came  running  along  the  wet  and  slippery  deck  in  his 
bare  feet,  cursing  and  swearing  at  Jack  and  waving  to 
him  to  go  below.  The  next  moment,  and  before  Jack 
could  move  to  obey,  the  vessel  plunged  down  into  a 
wave,  with  a  thunder-clap  of  sound  and  a  cataract  of 
salt  water  that  nearly  swept  him  off  his  feet  and  wet 
him  to  the  skin. 

Perhaps  of  all  the  actual  events  of  the  voyage,  this 
episode  and  the  two  or  three  minutes'  spectacle  of  the 
storm  lingered  most  vividly  of  all  in  Jack's  memory. 

It  was  at  this  time  that  he  first  began  to  get  better 
acquainted  with  the  crew.  When,  at  the  bidding  of  the 
sailor,  he  went  down  below,  wet  and  dripping,  he  could 
not  bear  to  go  back  into  the  steerage,  and  the  crew  let 


TO   THE   END   OF   THE   VOYAGE  59 

him  lie  out  in  the  forecastle.  They  laughed  at  him  and 
his  plight,  but  they  did  not  drive  him  back  into  the 
steerage. 

Theu  there  were  many  other  days  of  bright  sunlight 
and  of  smooth  breezy  sailing ;  and  still  other  times  of 
windy,  starry  nights,  when  the  watch  would  sit  smoking 
up  under  the  lee  sail,  and  Jack  would  sit  or  maybe  lie 
stretched  at  length  listening  to  them  as  they  spun  their 
yarns — yarns,  which,  if  the  truth  must  be  told,  were 
not  always  fit  for  the  ears  of  a  boy  like  Jack. 

So  the  days  came  and  went  without  any  distinct  defi- 
nition of  time,  as  they  always  do  in  a  long  voyage  such 
as  this,  and  then,  one  soft  warm  afternoon.  Jack  saw 
that  there  were  sea-gulls  hovering  and  circling  around 
the  wake  of  the  brig.  One  of  the  crew  told  him  that 
they  had  come  within  soundings  again,  and  when  he 
looked  over  the  side  of  the  vessel  he  saw  that  the  clear, 
tranquil  green  of  the  profounder  depths  of  the  ocean 
had  changed  to  the  cloudy,  opalescent  gray  of  shoaler 
waters. 

Then  it  was  the  next  morning  and  Jack  felt  some  one 
shaking  him  awake.  "  What  is  it  I "  said  he,  opening 
his  eyes  heavily  and  looking  up  into  the  lean  face  of 
Sim  Tucker  that  was  bent  over  him. 

The  •  little  man  was  all  in  a  quiver  of  excitement. 
" 'T  is  land! "  he  cried  in  a  shrill,  exultant  voice — " 't  is- 
land !  We  're  in  sight  of  land  !  Don't  you  want  to  get 
wp  and  see  it  f  You  can  see  it  from  the  deck."  His 
voice  piped  shriller  and  shriller  with  the  straining  of 
his  excitement. 

Jack  was  out  of  his  berth  in  an  instant ;  and,  almost 
before  he  knew  it,  up  on  deck,  barefoot,  in  the  cool 
brightness  of  the  early  day. 

The  deck  was  wet  and  chill  with  the  dew  of  the  early 
morning.  The  sun  had  not  yet  risen,  but  the  day  was 
bright,  and  as  clear  as  crystal.     The  land  lay  stretched 


60  JACK  BALLISTEE'S   FOETUNES 

out  sharp  and  clear-cut  in  the  early  morning  light  —  a 
pure  white,  thread-like  strip  of  sandy  beach,  a  level  strip 
of  green  marsh,  and,  in  the  far  distance,  a  dark,  ragged 
line  of  woodland  standing  against  the  horizon. 

Jack  had  seen  nothing  but  the  water  for  so  long,  and 
his  eyes  had  become  so  used  to  the  measureless  stretch 
of  ocean  all  around  him,  that  the  land  looked  very  near, 
although  it  must  have  been  quite  a  league  away.  He 
stood  gazing  and  gazing  at  it.  The  New  World !  The 
wonderful  new  world  of  which  he  had  heard  so  much ! 
And  now  he  was  really  looking  at  it  with  his  very  living 
eyes.  Virginia !  That,  then,  was  the  New  World.  He 
stood  gazing  and  gazing.  In  the  long  line  of  the  hori- 
zon there  was  an  open  space  free  of  trees.  He  won- 
dered whether  that  was  a  tobacco-plantation.  There 
was  a  single  tree  standing  by  itself  —  a  straight,  thin 
trunk,  and  a  sj)read  of  foliage  at  the  top.  He  wondered 
if  it  was  a  palm-tree.  He  did  not  then  know  that  there 
were  no  palm-trees  in  Virginia,  and  that  single,  solitary 
tree  seemed  to  him  to  be  very  wonderful  in  its  sugges- 
tion of  a  strange  and  foreign  country. 

Then,  as  he  stood  gazing,  a  sudden  recollection  of  the 
fate  that  now,  in  a  little  while,  awaited  him  in  this  new 
world  —  of  his  five  years  of  coming  servitude.  The  rec- 
ollection of  this  came  upon  him,  grij^i^ing  him  with  an 
almost  poignant  pang;  and  he  bent  suddenly  over, 
clutching  the  rail  tightly  with  both  hands.  How  would 
it  be  with  him  then  1  What  was  in  store  for  him  in 
this  new  world  upon  which  he  was  looking  ?  Was  it 
hope  or  despair,  happiness  or  misery? 

Captain  Butts  and  Mr.  Dyce  were  standing  on  the 
poop-deck,  the  Captain  with  a  glass  held  to  his  ej^e  look- 
ing out  at  the  land.  By  and  by  he  lowered  the  glass, 
and  said  something  to  the  mate.  Then  he  handed  the 
glass  to  the  other,  who  also  took  a  long,  steady  look  at 
the  distant  thread  of  shore. 


TO   THE   END   OF   THE   VOYAGE  61 

Some  of  the  crew  were  standing  in  a  little  group  for- 
ward. Among  the  others  was  Dred,  the  red  bandana 
handkerchief  around  his  head  blazing  like  a  flame  in 
the  crystal  brightness  of  the  morning.  As  Jack,  still 
possessed  by  that  poignant  remembrance  of  his  coming- 
fate,  went  up  to  where  they  stood,  Dred  turned  and 
looked  at  him,  almost  smiling.  The  light  of  the  rising 
sun  glinted  in  his  narrow  black  eyes,  and  cut  in  a 
sharp  seam  the  crooked,  jagged  scar  that  ran  down  his 
cheek.  He  nodded  at  Jack  ever  so  slightly ;  but  he  did 
not  say  anything,  and  then  he  turned  and  looked  out 
again  toward  the  land.  Just  then  the  mate  shouted  an 
order,  and  then  the  group  of  sailors  broke  asunder^ 
some  of  them  running  across  the  deck  in  their  bare  feet, 
throwing  loose  the  ropes  from  the  belaying-pins,  others 
scrambling  up  the  ratlines  higher  and  higher,  until  they 
looked  like  little  blots  in  the  mazy  rigging  against  the 
blue,  shining  sky  overhead. 

It  was  after  sunset  when  the  brig,  half  sailing,  half 
drifting,  floated  with  the  insweep  of  the  tide  up  into 
the  York  River.  Jack  stood  with  the  other  redemption 
servants  gazing  silently  and  intently  at  the  high  bluff 
shores.  Above  the  crest  of  the  bluff  they  could  see  the 
roofs  and  brick  chimneys  of  the  little  town.  A  half- 
dozen  vessels  of  various  sorts  were  riding  at  anchor  in 
the  harbor,  looming  darkly  against  the  bright  face  of 
the  water,  just  ruffled  by  the  light  breeze.  The  line 
of  a  long,  straggling  wharf  reached  some  distance  out 
across  the  water  to  a  frame  shed  at  the  end.  Along 
the  shore  toward  the  bluff  were  two  or  three  small 
frame-houses  and  a  couple  of  big  brick  buildings.  Some- 
body had  told  Jack  that  they  were  the  tobacco  ware- 
houses, and  they  appeared  very  wonderful  to  him..  A 
boat  was  pulling  off  from  the  wharf — it  was  the  custom 
officer's  boat.  Other  boats  were  following  it,  and  a  sail- 
boat came  fluttering  out  from  the  shore  into  the  bright 


62  JACK   BALLISTEE'S   FOKTUNES 

stretch  of  water.  Suddenly  there  was  a  thunderous 
splash.  It  was  the  anchor  dropped.  There  was  a  quick 
ratthng  of  the  cable  and  a  creaking  as  it  drew  taut. 
Then  the  Arundel  swung  slowly  around  with  the  sweep 
of  the  tide,  and  the  voyage  was  ended. 

A  minute  later  the  boat  with  the  custom  officer  came 
alongside.  Captain  Butts  met  him  at  the  gangway  and 
took  him  into  the  cabin.  In  a  little  while  boats,  canoes, 
-and  dug-outs  came  clustering  about  the  Arundel.  They 
all  seemed  strange  and  foreign  to  Jack.  Nearly  every- 
body wanted  to  come  aboard,  but  the  mate,  who  stood 
at  the  gangway,  allowed  only  a  few  to  come  up  on  deck. 
These  he  directed  to  the  cabin,  whither  Captain  Butts 
had  taken  the  custom  officer  The  others  remained  in 
Iheii'  boats  below,  looking  up  at  the  redemption  servants 
who  stood  crowded  at  the  rail,  staring  down  at  them.  A 
ceaseless  volley  of  questions  and  answers  was  called 
back  and  forth  from  those  below  to  those  above.  "Where 
d'  ye  come  from  ?  "  "  G-ravesend  and  Southampton." 
"What  craft  is  this  ?  "  "  The  Arundel  of  Bristol."  "  Comes 
from  G-ravesend,  d'  ye  say  ?"  "  Be  there  any  man  aboard 
that  comes  from  Southwark  ? "  "  Hey,  Johnnie  Stivins, 
here  be  a  man  asks  of  Southwark."  "  Hi,  there !  what 
are  ye  doin',  d'  ye  want  to  stave  us  in?" — a  babel  of  a 
dozen  voices  at  a  time. 

Jack  stood  looking  down  through  the  now  falling- 
twilight  to  the  figures  below,  dim  and  shadowless  in  the 
pallid  light.  Just  beneath  where  he  stood  was  a  dug- 
out that  had  come  off  from  the  shore  among  the  first. 
It  was  rowed  by  a  negro  naked  to  the  waist.  A  white 
man  sat  in  the  stern.  He  appeared  to  have  a  kind  of 
hat  of  woven  grasses  upon  his  head.  He  wore  loose 
-cotton  trousers  and  was  smoking  a  leaf  of  tobacco  rolled 
into  a  cigarro,  the  lighted  tip  of  which  alternately 
glowed  and  faded  in  the  dimming  light.  How  strange 
and  wonderful  it  all  was  ! 


TO    THE   END    OF   THE   VOYAGE  63 

Just  then  Captain  Butts  came  out  of  the  cabin  with 
"the  custom  officer.  He  did  not  then  pay  any  attention 
to  the  group  of  redemptioners  gathered  at  the  raih  He 
stood  looking  at  the  custom  officer  as  he  climbed  down 
into  the  boat.  Then  he  turned  sharply  around.  "Here, 
Dyce!"  he  roared  to  the  mate,  "send  those  men  down 
into  the  steerage.  We  '11  have  half  on  'em  running  awa}" 
in  the  dark  next  we  knows  on." 

The  transports  grumbled  and  growled  among  them- 
selves as  they  were  driven  below.  One  or  two  of  them 
were  disposed  to  joke,  but  the  others  swore  as  they 
climbed  stumblingiy  down  the  forecastle  ladder. 

The  day  had  been  warm,  and  the  steerage  was  close 
and  hot;  a  lantern  hung  from  the  deck  above,  and  in 
the  dim,  dusky  light  the  men  stood  crowded  together. 
Presently  one  of  them  began  singing  a  snatch  of  a  scur- 
rilous song.  Other  voices  joined  in  the  refrain,  and 
gradually  the  muttering  and  grumbling  began  to  change 
into  a  noisy  and  rebellious  turbulence.  The  singing 
grew  louder  and  louder,  breaking  now  and  then  into  a 
shout  or  yell. 

Jack  had  crept  into  his  berth.  It  was  close  and  stuffy 
and  it  smelt  heavy  and  musty  after  the  fresh  air  above. 
He  felt  very  dull  and  numb,  and  the  noises  and  tumult 
in  the  close  confines  of  the  steerage  stunned  and  deaf- 
ened him. 

Suddenly  Captain  Butts's  voice  sounded  from  the  open 
scuttle  of  the  forecastle  companion  way.  "  What  d'  ye 
mean  below  there?"  he  roared;  "  are  ye  all  gone  drunk 
or  crazy  ?  Stop  that  there  noise  or  I  '11  put  a  stopper 
on  ye  that  '11  be  little  enough  to  your  liking!  D'  ye 
hear  ? " 

A  moment's  lull  followed  his  voice ;  then  one  of  the 
men  gave  a  shrill  cat-call.  It  was,  as  a  signal,  instantly 
followed  by  a  burst  of  yells  and  whistles  and  jeers. 
Jack  expected  to  see  Captain  Butts  down  among  them 
bodily,  but  he  did  not  come,  and  for  a  while  the  trans- 


64  JACK   BALLISTER'S   FOETUNES 

ports  whistled  and  yelled  and  shouted  unchecked.  Pres- 
ently there  was  the  noise  of  some  one  coming  down 
into  the  forecastle  beyond.  It  was  Joe  Barkley — one 
of  the  sailors.  He  came  into  the  steerage,  and  at  his 
coming  an  expectant  lull  fell  upon  the  tumult.  He 
carried  a  cocked  and  loaded  pistol  in  his  hand.  His 
face  was  stolid  and  expressionless,  and  he  looked  neither 
to  the  right  nor  to  the  left.  "  What  be  ye  going  to  do, 
Joe,"  called  out  one  of  the  redemptioners.  He  did  not 
answer;  he  went  straight  up  to  the  lantern,  opened  it, 
blew  out  the  light,  closed  it  again,  and  then  turned 
away  without  saying  a  word.  He  went  into  the  fore- 
castle and  blew  out  the  lantern  there,  and  then  every- 
thing  was  instantly  engulfed  in  an  impenetrable  and 
pitchy  darkness.  A  burst  of  derisive  yells  followed  Joe 
as  he  climbed  clattering  up  the  forecastle  ladder  again, 
but  he  paid  no  attention  to  the  jibes  and  jeers,  and  the 
next  moment  Jack  heard  the  rattling  of  the  slide  of  the 
scuttle  as  it  was  closed,  and  then  the  snapping  of  the 
lock.  For  a  while  after  the  lights  were  put  out  the  up- 
roar was  louder  than  ever.  The  men  thumjDed  and 
banged  and  kicked.  But  in  time  the  pitchy  darkness 
quelled  their  spirits  in  spite  of  themselves,  and  little  by 
little  the  turmoil  ceased.  It  broke  out  intermittently, 
it  quieted  again,  and  then  at  last  it  subsided  into  a 
muffled  grumbling. 

Jack  lay  in  his  berth  staring  into  the  darkness ;  his 
ears  seemed  to  hum  and  tingle  with  the  black  stillness 
that  surrounded  him.  He  felt  intensely  wide  awake  as 
though  he  could  never  sleep  again.  Teeming  thoughts 
passed  vividly  through  his  brain.  Visions  of  all  he  had 
seen  during  the  day — the  sandy  shore,  the  distant  strip 
of  pine  woods,  the  restless,  crawling  waters  between  — 
he  could  almost  see  the  water.  But  gradually  thoughts 
and  visions  intermingled,  and  almost  before  he  knew  it 
he  had  drifted  off  into  the  ocean  of  sleep. 


CHAPTER  IX 


IN    VIRGINIA 


SINCE  the  capital  of  Virginia  had  been  removed  from 
Jamestown  to  Williamsburg,  and  since  the  Gov- 
ernor's palace  and  the  Government  House  had  been 
established  there,  it  had  become  the  center  of  fashion 
in  the  colonv.  Just  now  the  Com-t  was  in  session,  and 
the  Council  sitting,  and  Governor  Spottiswood  was  hold- 
ing court  every  Thursday. 

The  day  was  rather  close  and  warm,  but  there  was  an 
unusually  large  representation  of  the  provincial  aris- 
tocracy present.  It  was  still  not  late  in  the  afternoon, 
but  there  had  already  been  a  good  many  arrivals,  and 
the  gabbling  sound  of  talking  filled  the  assembly  room. 
The  Governor,  where  he  stood  at  the  end  of  the  room, 
was  the  center  of  a  group  of  gentlemen  who  were  clus- 
tered about  him  and  in  his  immediate  vicinity.  It  was 
almost  difficult  for  one  to  get  past  them  to  pay  respect 
to  his  Excellency.  A  group,  perhaps,  would  move  a 
little  aside  to  make  way  for  newly  arriving  ladies  and 
gentlemen,  but  such  as  were  now  coming  in  could  only 
get  to  the  Governor  with  a  sense  of  discomfort  and  of 
being  crowded.  In  j)arts  of  the  room  more  distant  from 
the  Governor  the  talk  was,  perhaps,  more  of  social 
matters,  but  near  his  Excellency  the  knots  of  men  dis- 
cussed things  relating  to  colonial  affairs. 

Just  then  the  talk  was  about  a  renewed  trouble  with 
pirates,  who  had  begun  again  to  infest  the  mouth  of  the 
bay  and  the  North  Carolina  sounds. 


66  JACK   BALLISTER'S   FORTUNES 

It  was  just  about  this  time  that  Blackbeard  had 
broken  his  pardou  and  was  again  stopping  vessels  sail- 
ing between  Virginia  and  the  Carolinas. 

The  Pearl  and  the  Lyme,  ships  of  war,  were  then 
lying  at  Jamestown,  and  some  of  the  officers  had  come 
over  to  pay  their  respects  at  the  palace.  Some  of  them 
were  standing  near  listening  to  Councillor  Page,  who 
was  just  then  speaking  of  the  latest  depredations  of 
Blackbeard.  "  He  was  lying  down  at  Ocracock,"  said 
Mr.  Page.  "  I  had  a  sloop  coming  from  the  Tar  Eiver 
with  some  shingle  thatch  for  my  new  warehouse.  Well, 
the  villains  stopped  her  and  came  aboard  of  her.  They 
overhauled  her  cargo,  and  I  do  believe  if  they  'd  known 
't  was  for  me  they  would  have  thrown  it  all  overboard. 
But  Williams  said  naught  about  that,  and  so  they  did 
not  know  whose  't  was.  There  was  nothing  on  board 
to  serve  the  villains'  turn,  and  they  might  just  as  well 
have  let  the  sloop  go ;  but  no,  there  that  wretch,  Black- 
beard, held  her  for  nearly  two  days,  so  that  she  might 
not  give  the  alarm  of  his  being  there  to  any  in-coming 
vessels.  Williams — he  was  the  captain  of  my  sloop — 
Williams  said  that  while  he  was  lying  there  under  the 
pirates'  guns,  he  himself  saw  Blackbeard  stop  and  levy 
upon  some  nine  vessels  of  different  sorts,  rummaging 
all  over  their  cargoes.  He  said  it  was  chiefly  rum  and 
cloth  the  villain  was  after.  Williams  said  that 't  was 
reported  the  villains  held  every  boat  that  came  through 
the  inlet,  and  would  neither  let  them  go  in  nor  come 
out,  but  made  'em  all  lie  at  anchor  under  his  guns. 
He  hath  two  armed  sloops  now  and  a  crew  altogether 
of  some  forty  or  sixty  men,  and  twice  or  thrice  as  many 
more  to  call  upon  if  he  chooses." 

Lieutenant  Maynard,  of  the  Lyme,  was  standing  by, 
listening  to  the  talk. 

"  Why,  zounds  ! "  said  he,  "  Why  then  do  you  people 
here  in  the  provinces  put  up  with  such  a  rascal  as  this 


IN   VIKGINIA  67 

Teach  or  Blackbeard  or  wliat-ye-call-him  ?  I  'd  blow 
him  out  of  the  water,  were  I  in  his  Excellency''s  place. 
Aj^e,  I  would  fit  out  an  expedition  and  send  it  down 
there  and  blow  the  villain  clean  out  of  the  water  and 
have  done  with  him." 

"  What  was  that  ? "  said  the  Governor,  turning  around 
smiling  toward  the  speaker.  "Tut,  tut!  Lieutenant, 
that  shows  how  little  you  men  of  war  know  about 
€ivil  affairs.  How  could  I,  as  Grovernor  of  Virginia,  fit 
out  an  expedition  and  send  it  down  into  North  Caro- 
lina. Ocracock  is  under  Governor  Eden's  jurisdiction, 
not  under  mine,  and  't  is  his  place  to  move  against  pi- 
rates in  the  waters  of  his  own  province.  They  're  inland 
waters,  and  under  the  jurisdiction  of  North  Carolina." 

"Well,  your  Excellency,"  said  Lieutenant  Maynard, 
^'to  be  sure  I  know  naught  about  the  law,  and  only 
about  fighting.  But  if  a  villain  stood  at  my  neighbor's 
door  and  stopped  my  own  people  from  coming  out  and 
going  in  upon  my  business,  and  robbed  them.  By 
Zounds !  your  Excellency,  I  would  have  it  out  with 
him,  even  if  I  had  to  chase  him  into  my  neighbor's 
house  to  do  it."  The  Governor  laughed,  and  the  little 
group  around  him  joined  in  the  laughter.  Then  his 
Excellency  turned  again  to  meet  some  new-comers  who 
made  their  way  toward  him  through  the  circle  sur- 
rounding him. 

"  I  do  declare,"  said  Mr.  Dillworth,  "  methinks  Gov- 
ernor Eden  of  North  Carolina  is  as  bad  as  ever  was 
Fletcher  of  New  York  at  his  worst  times.  'T  was 
through  this  Blackbeard  that  poor  Ned  Parker  was 
murdered — the  first  young  gentleman  of  Virginia.  'T  is 
currently  known  everywhere — and  yet  Eden  grants  the 
villain  the  King's  pardon  as  soon  as  he  asks  for  it. 
'T  is  said  his  Excellency  —  Eden,  I  mean  —  has  more 
than  once  had  his  share  of  the  booty  that  the  pirates 
have  taken.     Why,  would  you  believe  it,  the  villain 


68  JACK   BALLISTEE'S   FOETUNES 

pirate  was  only  last  year  up  here  at  Norfolk,  coming 
and  going  as  he  pleased,  carrying  his  Majesty's  pardon 
in  his  j)ocket  and  flaunting  it  in  the  eyes  of  everybody. 
Well,  if  ever  we  catch  him,  now  he  hath  broken  his 
pardon,  't  will  be  a  short  enough  shrift  he  '11  get  of  it^ 
I  '11  promise  him." 

"  How  is  Colonel  Parker  now  ?  "  asked  Mr.  Page. 

"He  's  about  well  now,"  said  Mr.  Cartwright,  a  cousin 
of  Colonel  Parker's.  "  I  was  at  Marlborough  last  week, 
and  his  gout  seems  to  have  fairly  left  him." 

"Methinks  he  hath  never  been  the  same  man  since 
poor  Master  Ned  was  mmxlered,"  said  Mr.  Dill  worth.  "I 
never  saw  anybody  so  broken  by  trouble  as  he  was 
at  that  time." 

"  His  daughter.  Miss  Nelly,  is  a  great  beauty,  I  hear,'^ 
said  Lieutenant  Majmard. 

"  The  girl  is  well  enough,"  said  Mr.  Cartwright  briefly. 

A  group  of  some  half  dozen  ladies  and  two  gentlemen 
were  gathered  at  one  of  the  open  windows,  into  which 
the  warm  air  blew  widely.  One  of  the  gentlemen  was 
Mr.  Harry  Oliver,  a  young  man  about  eighteen  years 
old.  He  wore  his  own  hair  curled  and  hanging  to  his 
shoulders,  and  he  put  it  back  with  his  hand  every  now 
and  then  as  he  talked.  He  showed  his  white  teeth  when 
he  smiled,  and  his  large,  dark  eyes  moved  restlessly 
hither  and  thither. 

"  Yonder  comes  Dick  Parker,"  said  he  suddenly. 

"Why,  so  it  is,"  said  Miss  Peggy  Oliver.  They  all 
looked  toward  the  new  comer.  "  Upon  my  word,"  she 
continued,  "he  is  a  man  I  can't  abide  for  the  life  of 
me.  As  proud,  haughty  a  man  as  ever  I  saw.  He  turns 
me  to  a  block  of  ice  whenever  I  am  near  him,  and  I 
can't  find  a  word  to  say  for  myself." 

"Why,  Peggy,"  said  Oliver,  "that,  then,  must  be  why 
you  can't  abide  him,"  and  thereupon  the  group  broke 
into  a  laugh. 


IN   VIEGINIA  69 

Mr.  Richard  Parker,  who  had  just  come  into  the 
room,  was  standing  quietly  waiting  to  speak  to  the 
Governor.  He  did  not  try  to  push  his  way  through  the 
circle  that  suiTounded  his  Excellency,  and  for  a  while 
nobody  saw  him.  His  handsome,  florid  face,  surrounded 
by  a  fine  powdered  wig,  looked  calmly  and  steadily  in 
the  direction  of  the  Grovernor.  He  stood  quite  impassive, 
waiting  an  opportunity  to  go  forward  when  he  would 
not  have  to  push  his  way  through  the  crowd.  Presentl}^ 
some  one  saw  him  and  spoke  to  the  others,  and  they 
made  way  for  him  almost  as  with  deference.  He  went 
forward  calmly  and  paid  his  respects  in  a  few  brief 
words.  He  spoke  with  the  Grovernor  for  a  little  while, 
or  rather  the  Governor  spoke  to  him,  and  he  replied. 
All  the  time  the  Governor  was  speaking,  Mr.  Parker 
was  looking  steadily  and  composedly  around  the  room, 
glancing  back  toward  his  interlocutor  every  now  and 
then  to  reply.  Presently  there  was  a  pause,  and  then 
at  last  Mr.  Richard  Parker  bowed  and  mthdrew  to  a 
little  distance. 

"Why,  only  look  at  him  now,"  said  Peggy  Oliver, 
"  even  his  Excellency  is  not  good  enough  for  him." 

"Well,  to  be  sure,  Peggy,"  said  one  of  the  elder 
ladies,  "if  Mr.  Parker  is  proud,  he  hath  enough  to 
make  him  proud  when  you  think  what  a  great  man  of 
fashion  he  hath  been  in  his  day.  'T  is  not  every  man 
who  hath  had  the  luck  to  be  a  friend  of  the  Duke  of 
Marlborough.  'T  is  a  wonder  to  me  that  he  should  ever 
have  come  here  to  the  provinces,  seeing  what  a  great 
man  of  fashion  he  was  at  home  in  England." 

The  two  gentlemen  burst  out  laughing.  "  Wh}^,"  said 
Will  Costigan,  "for  that  matter,  't  was  Hobson's 
choice  betwixt  Virginia  or  the  debtor's  prison,  madam." 

"  They  say  old  Dunmore  Parker  when  he  was  alive 
used  to  send  a  fortune  every  year  to  England  for  him 
to  spend,"  said  one  of  the  ladies.    "  Tom  told  me  t'  other 


70  JACK   BALLISTEE'S   FOETUNES 

day  that  he  one  time  played  a  game  of  piquet  for  four 
days  ou  end.  'T  was  with  a  Frenchman ;  a  nobleman 
—  I  forget  his  name  —  who  was  a  prisoner  at  Malpla- 
quet.  Indeed  it  must  have  been  mightily  hard  upon 
him  after  his  father  died  to  find  that  all  the  estate,  ex- 
cept the  Dunmore  Plantation,  was  left  to  his  brother." 

Just  then  Mr.  Parker  approached  the  group  and 
the  talk  ceased.  He  nodded  to  Oliver  and  then  passed 
by  and  stood  at  a  little  distance  looking  about  him. 
Presently  Harry  Oliver  edged  over  toward  him.  "  How 
d'  ye  do,  Parker,"  said  he. 

Mr.  Parker  turned  his  eyes  toward  the  young  man 
with  an  answering  "  How  d'  ye  do,  Oliver." 

There  was  a  moment's  pause.  "  That 's  a  prodigious 
handsome  piece  of  lace  you  've  got  there,  Parker,"  said 
the  young  man,  looking  at  Mr.  Parker's  cravat. 

"  'T  is  good  enough,"  said  Mr.  Parker  briefly. 

"  Is  it  Flemish  ! " 

"Yes,  sir." 

"  We  don't  come  across  any  such  lace  as  that  here  in 
Virginia,"  said  the  young  man. 

"  Don't  you  I " 

Oliver  stood  for  a  while  in  silence.  Almost  uncon- 
sciously he  assumed  somewhat  of  the  older  man's  man- 
ner, standing  with  his  hands  behind  him  and  looking 
indifferently  around  the  room.  "  Tell  me,  Parker,"  said 
he,  "  do  you  go  down  to  Parrot's  to-morrow  ?  " 

Again  Mr.  Parker  looked  slowly  toward  him.  "  To 
Parrot's  ?  "  said  he.     "  Wliat  d'  ye  mean  ?  " 

"Wliy,  have  you  not  heard?"  exclaimed  the  young 
man  eagerly,  glad  to  have  found  something  that  prom- 
ised to  interest  the  other.  "  Why,  to-morrow  there  's 
to  be  fought  seven  as  fine  mains  as  ever  were  pitted 
in  Virginia.  There  are  to  be  six  mains  fought  between 
the  Gentlemen  of  Surry  and  the  Oentlemen  of  Prince 
George's.    Will  Costigan  yonder  hath  brought  his  red 


IN   VIRGINIA  71 

cock  over  from  t'  other  side  of  the  Bay.  The  bu'cl  hath 
been  all  the  talk  for  six  months  past.  He  offers  to  pit 
it  against  the  winner  of  all  the  mains.  I  heard  say,  too, 
that  Ned  Williamson  purposes  to  bring  down  a  three- 
year  horse  that  he  hath  broke,  and  will  run  it'  in  the 
afternoon,  perhaps,  against  Tom  Lawson's  Duke  of 
Norfolk." 

Mr.  Parker  listened  impassively.  "  I  had  not  heard 
anything  about  it,"  said  he;  "I  only  came  down  yester- 
day. What  time  do  you  go  down  to  Parrot's?"  he 
asked  presently. 

"  To-morrow  morning.  I  'm  going  to  stay  at  my  uncle 
Tom's  over  night.     Will  you  go  along  I " 

"  Why,"  said  Mr.  Parker,  "  I  hadn't  thought  of  it  be- 
fore.    Maybe  I  will  go." 

"  I  start  in  the  morning,"  said  Oliver,  eagerly ;  "  I  '11 
come  over  for  you  if  you  '11  go." 

"  Very  well,"  said  Mr,  Parker,  "  you  can  come  over, 
and  if  I  find  I  can,  I  '11  go  with  you.  Is  not  that  Mis- 
tress Denham  and  her  daughter  coming  into  the  room  ? " 

Then  Mr.  Parker  moved  away  across  the  room  to 
speak  to  the  two  Maryland  ladies. 

It  was  early  twilight  of  the  next  evening  when  Mr. 
Richard  Parker  and  Harry  Oliver  rode  up  to  Parrot's 
house.  The  house  itself  was  the  largest  of  a  cluster  of 
unpainted  frame  buildings  that  stood  just  beyond  a 
clearing,  overlooking  the  bay  from  a  low,  sandy  bluff. 
A  number  of  outbuildings  and  sheds  sui'rounded  it  to 
the  rear.  Three  pine  trees  stood  not  far  from  the  low 
porch  that  sheltered  the  doorway,  and  a  dozen  or  more 
horses  stood  clustered  around  the  shaggy  resinous 
trunks.  Near  by  them  lounged  a  group  of  men,  black 
and  white,  talking  together  with  now  and  then  the 
break  of  a  laugh.  They  fell  silent,  and  some  of  them 
took  off  their  hats  as  Mr.  Parker  and  Mr.  Oliver  rode 


72  JACK   BALLISTER'S   FOETUNES 

up  to  the  door  and  alighted.  Mr.  Ohver  nodded  in 
reply,  but  Mr.  Parker  paid  no  attention  to  any  one. 
"  Where  is  Parrot  f "  asked  the  younger  man. 

"  He  's  inside,  Mr.  Oliver,"  answered  one  of  the  group. 
"  They  were  at  cards  awhile  ago,  sir,  and  I  reckon  they 
be  at  it  yet." 

The  two  gentlemen  went  directly  into  the  house. 
Tom  Parrot's  wife  met  them  in  the  hallway,  where  was 
a  scattered  heap  of  hats  and  riding  coats.  From  the 
room  to  one  side  came  the  deep  sound  of  men  talking, 
and  then  a  sudden  outburst  of  voices.  "I  be  mortal 
proud  to  see  ye,  gentlemen,"  said  Mrs.  Parrot,  dropping 
them  a  courtesy.  "  Indeed,  Mr.  Parker,  you  do  honor 
us  in  coming.  You  '11  find  Tom  and  the  gentlemen  in 
yonder." 

"  You  go  ahead,  Oliver,"  said  Mr.  Parker. 

Another  loud  burst  of  voices  greeted  the  two  as  they 
entered  the  room,  so  dense  with  tobacco  smoke  that  at 
first  they  could  see  nothing  at  all.  The  room  was  full 
of  the  smell  of  rum.  A  great  bowl  of  punch  stood  on 
the  side-table,  and  there  was  a  continual  tinkle  and 
jingle  of  glasses.  Tom  Parrot  pushed  back  his  chair 
noisily  and  rose  to  meet  the  new  comers.  He  was  a 
little  stout  man  with  a  red  face.  It  was  redder  than 
ever  now,  and  bedewed  with  drops  of  sweat.  He  had 
laid  aside  his  wig,  and  his  bald  head  glistened  with 
moisture.  He  wore  no  coat,  his  waistcoat  was  opened, 
and  his  breeches  loosened  at  the  waistband.  He  wiped 
his  face  and  head  with  his  shirt  sleeve  as  he  spoke. 
"  Why,  Mr.  Parker,"  said  he,  "  who  'd  a-thought  to  see 
you !  You  be  mighty  welcome,  Mr.  Parker.  Won't  you 
take  a  hand  at  the  game,  sir?  Tim  (to  the  negro),  push 
up  that  there  chair  for  Mr.  Parker.  Fetch  a  clean  glass 
and  fill  it  with  punch.  You  know  all  the  gentlemen 
here,  don't  you,  Mr.  Parker?"  And  then  he  stopped 
abruptly  as  though  struck  by  a  sudden  thought. 


IN   VIRGINIA  73 

Mr.  Ricliai'd  Parker  looked  briefly  around  the  table. 
He  did  know,  at  least  by  sight,  all  who  were  there  but 
one.  That  one  was  a  stranger  to  him;  a  tall  man 
with  a  long,  thick,  perfectly  black  beard  tied  into  a 
knot  with  a  piece  of  string.  His  thick,  black  hair  was 
parted  in  the  middle  and  brushed  smoothly  down  upon 
either  side  of  his  head,  and  was  trimmed  squarely  all 
around  his  neck.  The  locks  at  his  temple  were  plaited 
into  long  strings,  that  hung  down  in  front  of  his  ears, 
in  which  twinkled  a  pair  of  gold  ear-rings.  His  face 
was  tanned  by  exposure  to  a  leathery  russet,  but  deep- 
ened to  a  bricky  red  in  his  cheeks.  At  the  name  of 
Parker  the  stranger  had  looked  up  sharply  for  an  in- 
stant, and  then  had  looked  down  again  at  the  cards 
he  was  in  the  act  of  shuffling.  A  sudden  hush  as  of 
expectancy  had  fallen  upon  the  room.  Everybody  was 
looking  attentively  at  Mr.  Parker  and  at  the  stranger. 

"Wlio  is  your  friend  yonder.  Parrot?"  asked  Mr. 
Parker,  "  I  don't  know  him." 

"  Him  ? "  said  Parrot,  "  why,  he  's  no  more  a  friend 
of  mine  than  he  is  a  friend  of  all  the  rest  of  us,  Mr. 
Parker." 

Seeing  the  other's  hesitation,  the  stranger  spoke  up 
boldly  and  loudly.  "My  name  is  Teach,"  said  he, 
"  Captain  Teach,  and  I  hail  from  North  Carolina.  It 's 
like  enough  you  've  heard  of  me  before,  as  I  've  heard 
of  you,  sir.  Well,  then,  I  'm  glad  to  make  your  acquaint- 
ance, Mr.  Parker."  He  reached  a  brown,  hairy  hand 
across  the  table  toward  Mr.  Richard  Parker,  looking 
up  at  him  as  he  did  so  with  the  most  impudent  cool- 
ness and  steadiness.  Mr.  Richard  Parker  made  no  sign 
of  having  recognized  the  stranger's  name.  He  and  the 
pirate  seemed  to  be  the  only  self-possessed  men  in  the 
room.  He  calmly  ignored  the  proffered  hand,  but  said 
in  a  perfectly  equal  voice :  "  Why,  then,  I  am  obliged 
to  you  for  telling  me  who  you  are,"  and  then  coolly 


74  JACK   BALLISTEE'S   FORTUNES 

and  composedly  took  his  seat.     "  What  game  do  you 
play,  Parrot  f "  said  he. 

"Why,  Mr.  Parker,"  said  Parrot  eagerly,  '"t  is  lan- 
terloo,  and  Captain  Teach  is  holding  the  bank  just 
now.     Will  you  take  a  hand,  sir  ?  " 

By  midnight  the  bowl  of  punch  had  been  emptied 
and  filled,  and  emj)tied  again,  and  at  times  the  uproar 
was  stunning.  Mr.  Richard  Parker  had  laid  aside  his 
coat  and  unbuttoned  his  waistcoat.  His  shirt  was 
opened  at  his  handsome,  round  throat,  and  the  sweat 
trickled  down  his  smooth  red  neck.  "Harkee  now, 
Captain  Teach,"  he  called  across  the  table  in  a  loud, 
rather  hoarse,  voice,  "  I  know  very  well  who  you  are, 
you  bloody  villain!  You  're  a  bloody  pirate,  d'  ye 
hear?" 

The  other  glowered  with  tipsy  truculence  back  at 
him  for  a  moment  or  two  in  silence.  "  You  can't  prove 
me  pirate,  Mr.  Dick  Parker,"  said  he  at  last,  "  and  no 
man  can  prove  me  pirate  now.  Maybe  I  am  a  pirate 
and  maybe  I  'm  none,  but  how  can  you  prove  I  'm  a 
pirate  ?  " 

Mr.  Parker's  flaming  face  did  not  change  a  shade  in 
the  heavy  haughtiness  of  its  expression.  "A  pirate 
you  are,"  said  he,  "  and  what  's  more,  you  're  at  your 
tricks  again.  I  've  heard  all  about  you,  and  I  know  all 
about  you,  d'  ye  see?  Well,  you  've  been  losing  at 
your  cards  all  night,  Mr.  Pirate.  You  may  do  well 
enough  in  yom-  villainy  afloat,  stabbing  poor  coasting 
captains  and  murdering  young  gentlemen  of  blood 
like  my  nephew  Ned,  but  what  a  poor  figure  do  you 
make  ashore  when  you  try  your  luck  with  the  gentle- 
men at  play.  See  what  I  've  won  of  you !  Look  'ee 
now,  sirrah,  I  '11  play  you  a  game  of  hazard  man  to 
man,  and  clear  you  out  o'  all  you  have  left  if  you  dare 
to  play  me." 


IN   VIEGINIA  75 

"  Dare !  Why  should  I  not  dare  to  play  yon,  Dick 
Parker  F  D'  ye  thiuk  I  'm  afeard  of  you  ?  I  '11  play 
you  as  long  as  ye  can  see.     Why  not  1 " 

Harry  Oliver  pushed  back  his  chair  and  rose.  He 
came  rather  unsteadily  to  where  Mr.  Parker  sat. 
"  Don't  do  it,  Dick,"  said  he,  thickly.  "  Don't  you  play 
that  man.  He  's  a  bloody  villain,  Dick,  and  't  is  n't  fit 
you  should  play  him.  D'  ye  forget  what  everybody 
knows,  and  that  he  had  a  hand  in  Ned's  death  ! " 

"  Sit  down,  Oliver ! "  the  other  replied,  wiping  his 
face  with  his  sleeve.  "  Here,  Parrot,  clear  the  table  of 
these  cards  and  hand  the  dice  over  here.  There 's  your 
cup,  you  villain ! "  and  he  tossed  the  box  across  the  table. 
"  And  now  set  your  stakes  and  throw  yoiir  cast." 

Everybody  gathered  around  the  two  to  watch  the 
game,  and  for  a  while  nothing  was  heard  but  the  rattle 
and  fall  of  the  dice.  At  first  the  luck  ran  all  in  Mr.  Par- 
ker's favor,  and  Teach's  face  grew  blacker  and  blacker. 
Then  suddenly  fortune  changed,  and  in  a  little  while 
the  winner  had  lost  everything  he  had  gained.  Again 
and  again  he  threw,  and  again  and  again  he  lost.  He 
played  more  and  more  desperately,  and  his  opponent 
grinned  at  every  cast. 

"  Don't  play  any  more,  Parker ! "  cried  Harry  Oliver. 
"Your  luck  's  against  you,  and  you  've  lost  too 
much  already."  But  the  other  only  pushed  him  aside 
with  his  elbow,  and  gathered  up  the  dice  with  trembling 
fingers.  At  last  he  dashed  down  the  dice  and  l^ox 
furiously,  and  thereupon  Captain  Teach  burst  out 
laughing.  "And  have  ye  had  enough!"  he  exulted 
hoarsely. 

Mr.  Parker  stared  haughtily  at  him  without  deigning 
any  reply.  "  Did  you  order  out  the  horses,  Oliver  ?  '^ 
he  said,  pushing  back  his  chair  and  rising. 

"Yes,  I  did.  They  're  waiting  outside  now,  and 
have  been  this  hour." 


76  JACK   BALLISTER'S   FORTUNES 


"Then,  come  along,  let  us  go;  't  is  nearly  morning 


now." 


The  moon,  nearing  its  last  quarter,  liung  in  the  east 
like  a  flattened  globe  of  white  light.  The  air  was  chill 
and  smelt  rank  of  marsh  and  woodland.  The  mocking- 
birds were  singing  in  ceaseless  medley  from  the  inky- 
black  thickets  beyond.  Blackbeard  followed  the  two 
gentlemen  as  they  came  out  of  the  house.  "  And  when 
may  I  look  for  you  to  settle  your  losses,  Mr.  Parker  f " 
said  he. 

"  I  '11  talk  with  you  to-morrow,"  said  Mr.  Parker,  as 
he  set  his  foot  in  the  stirrup. 

"  But  you  '11  give  me  some  written  obligation  of  some 
sort,  won't  you?" 

"  I  tell  you,  sirrah,  I  '11  talk  with  you  to-morrow.  Do 
you  hear  me  ?  To-morrow."  And  then  the  two  gentle- 
men rode  away  into  the  night,  leaving  the  other  stand- 
ing looking  after  them. 


CHAPTER   X 


INTO   BONDAGE 


IT  was  the  morning  after  the  arrival  at  Yorktown. 
Jack  was  awake  and  up  on  deck  bright  and  early. 
The  sun  had  just  risen  upon  a  clear  and  cloudless  day, 
and  the  brisk,  fresh  wind  drove  the  crisp  waves  splash- 
ing against  the  brig  as  she  rode  at  anchor.  The  foli- 
age of  the  trees  on  shore  whitened  to  the  breeze,  and 
the  smoke  blew  sharply  away  here  and  there  from  some 
tall  brick  chimney.  The  town  looked  fresh  and  strangely 
new  in  the  brightness  of  the  morning.  Three  of  the 
vessels  that  had  lain  in  the  harbor  over  night  were  get- 
ting under  way.  The  yo-hoeing  of  the  sailors,  and  the 
creaking  and  rattling  of  block  and  tackle,  as  the  sails 
rose  higher  and  higher  apeak,  sounded  sharp  and  clear 
across  the  water.  One  large  schooner,  heeling'  over  be- 
fore the  wind,  slid  swiftly  and  silently  past  the  Arun- 
del. Three  or  four  sailors,  clustered  along  the  rail,  were 
looking  over  toward  the  Arundel  as  they  passed  the 
brig,  but  the  man  at  the  helm  —  he  wore  a  red  woolen 
monteray  cap  —  gazed  out  steadily  ahead,  stooping  a 
little  so  as  to  see  under  the  boom  of  the  mainsail. 

Several  of  the  redemptioners  had  come  up  on  deck ; 
one  or  two  of  them,  doubtless  remembering  the  tumult 
and  disorder  of  the  night  before,  wore  a  hang-dog  doubt- 
ful look.  Suddenly  Jack  saw  the  mate  coming  toward 
them  from  aft.  "  What  are  ye  doing  up  here  on  deck  ? " 
he  called  out.  "  Were  n't  you  ordered  below  last  night  ? 
Very  well  then,  you  go  down  below  now,  and  don't  ye 


78  JACK  BAI^LISTEK'S   FOKTUNES 

come  up  till  you  're  sent  for ;  d'  ye  hear  ?  "  The  men, 
though  sulleu  and  lowering,  had  no  thought  of  dis- 
obeying the  mate's  orders,  and  Jack,  with  the  others, 
climbed  down  the  ladder  into  the  forecastle  again. 

It  was  well  toward  the  middle  of  the  day,  and  Jack 
was  lounging  in  his  berth,  when  Dred  suddenly  ap- 
peared in  the  steerage.  He  stood  looking  silently 
around  for  a  moment  or  two,  and  then,  seeing  Jack, 
beckoned  to  him.  Dred  did  not  speak  until  they  were 
out  in  the  forecastle.  "  The  agent 's  come  from  shore 
to  take  you  all  off,  lad,"  said  he ;  "  he  's  with  Captain 
Butts  in  the  cabin  now,  and  in  a  minute  or  two  you  '11 
be  sent  for." 

"To  take  us  ashore?"  said  Jack.  A  sudden,  keen 
pang  gripped  his  heart,  followed  instantly  by  an  utter 
faUing  away  of  the  spirits,  that  left  him  almost  physi- 
cally weak.  "  To  take  us  ashore?"  Had  the  time  then 
come  at  last  ? 

"  Aye,"  said  Dred,  "  ye  've  got  to  go  ashore  now,  lad. 
But  sit  you  down  there  a  bit,"  and  he  pointed  to  a  sea- 
chest.  "  I  've  a  notion  to  try  and  tidy  ye  up  a  bit.  I 
don't  choose  to  have  ye  looking  like  they  riff-raff,"  and 
he  jerked  his  head  toward  the  steerage.  "  D  'ye  see,  we 
two  ha'  been  mates,  ha'  n't  we  ?  "  He  had  taken  out  his 
gunny-bag,  and  he  now  brought  out  of  it  his  needle  and 
thread.  He  looked  up  at  Jack  from  under  his  brows 
and  then  looked  away  again.  Jack  did  not  return  the 
look  but  sat  with  dry  and  choking  throat,  his  breath 
coming  hot  and  heavy  from  him.  "  Well,  then,"  said 
Dred,  "seeing  as  we  're  mess-mates,  I  won't  have  ye  going 
ashore  looking  like  nothing  Ijut  trash.  Grive  me  your 
coat  and  waistcoat."  He  had  threaded  his  needle  and 
waxed  the  thread  deftly.  Jack  stripped  off  his  coat  and 
waistcoat,  and  without  a  word  Dred  began  mending  the 
frayed  and  tattered  edges  of  the  waistcoat.  Jack  sat 
silently  in  his  shirt-sleeves  watching  him.     He  knew 


INTO   BONDAGE  79 

that  Dred  was  talking  for  the  sake  of  talking.  He  felt 
almost  stifled  with  his  hot  and  labored  breathing  as  he 
sat  watching  the  other's  busy  fingers. 

"  There,  that  looks  betterish,"  said  Dred,  holding  the 
waistcoat  off  and  looking  at  it,  still  carefully  avoiding 
Jack's  eyes  as  he  did  so.  "  Here,  take  it,"  and  he  tossed 
it  to  Jack.  "  And  now  for  the  coat.  I  be  a  wonderful 
man  at  mending  clothes,  be  n't  I !  Lord !  what  a  hole  is 
here,  to  be  sure."  There  was  a  long  time  of  silence, 
Dred  busily  sewing  away  at  the  coat.  "  There,"  said 
he  at  last,  "  what  d'  ye  think  of  that  for  a  bit  of  mend- 
ing ?  Well,  well,  lad,  the  time  comes  to  all  on  us  to  part 
some  time,  so  what  matters  it  soon  or  late?  Harkee, 
Jack;  don't  you  go  making  trouble  for  yourself.  You 
be  a  good  boy,  and  you  '11  be  treated  well  enough,  I 
dare  say.  You  're  mightily  young  yet,  and  five  or  six 
year  won't  matter  so  much  to  you,  and  then  think  o' 
what  a  deal  you  '11  see  in  that  time."  He  was  talking 
very  briskly,  meantime  putting  away  the  needle  and 
thread  neatly. 

Five  years  !  Jack  stood  watching  Dred  fumbling  in 
his  gunny-bag.  Presently  he  fetched  out  a  pair  of  yarn 
stockings.  "  Here,  put  these  on,"  said  he,  "  the  ones 
you  got  be  all  full  of  holes.     Give  'em  to  me." 

Jack  did  not  dare  to  trust  himself  to  speak.  He  be- 
gan dumbly  changing  his  stockings,  Dred  standing  over 
him. 

Suddenly  the  boatswain  appeared  at  the  companion- 
way  of  the  forecastle,  and  piped  all  hands  up  on  deck. 
Jack  and  Dred  went  up  together.  Captain  Butts  and 
the  agent  were  standing  waiting  for  the  men,  the  agent 
holding  a  little  packet  of  papers  in  his  hand.  Jack,  in 
a  glance,  saw  that  the  agent  was  a  tall,  lean  man  dressed 
in  rusty  black,  wearing  a  long,  black  coat,  and  with  the 
flaps  of  his  hat  tied  up  with  leather  thongs.  His  lips 
moved  as  he  counted  the  redemptioners,  one  by  one, 


80  JACK   BALLISTER'S   FOETUNES 

as  they  came  up  out  of  the  companiou-way  and  were 
formed  in  a  hue  before  him  by  the  boatswain.  A  great^ 
flat  boat,  rowed  by  four  negroes  and  with  a  white  man 
in  the  stern,  had  been  made  fast  to  the  side  of  the  brig. 
"Nineteen,  twenty — that  's  all  of  'em,  Captain,"  —  the 
agent  had  counted  Jack  in  with  the  others,  — "  and  very 
lucky  you  've  been  with  'em.  Now,  Bo's'n,  get  'em 
down  as  soon  as  you  can." 

"  Aye,  aye,  sir,"  said  the  boatswain ;  and  then  to  the 
men,  "Now  then,  look  alive,  my  hearties,  and  don't 
take  all  day  about  it ! " 

Then,  suddenly.  Jack  went  straight  up  to  where  the 
agent  stood.  "  Sir,"  said  he,  hoarsely,  "  I  have  been 
ill-used.  I  was  knocked  down  and  kidnapped,  and 
brought  away  from  home  against  my  will.  Will  you 
not  listen  to  me  and  hear  what  I  have  to  say  f " 

"  Hold  your  noise  ! "  roared  the  captain. 

"  No,  I  won't,  neither,"  said  Jack.  He  did  not  expect 
much,  indeed  he  felt  that  he  had  no  hope  of  escape,  but 
still  the  effort  was  worth  making.  He  stood  chokingly 
looking  at  the  agent,  and  he  felt  that  his  heart  was 
beating  very  heavily  within  him. 

"  I  don't  know  anything  about  what  you  say,"  said 
the  agent.  "  The  bill  calls  for  twenty  men  shipped  from 
Southampton,  and  your  name  must  be  among  them. 
AYliat  's  your  name  ? " 

"  Jack  Ballister." 

"Yes,  here  't  is — John  Ballister — shipped  for  five 
years.  If  there  is  something  wrong,  you  '11  have  to  hold 
Captain  Butts  and  Mr.  Hezekiah  Tipton  to  answer.  I  'm 
only  an  agent,  and  't  is  none  of  my  business." 

"  I  wish  I  had  ye  for  a  couple  of  days  longer,"  said 
Captain  Butts,  "  I  'd  answer  ye,  I  would.  I  'd  put  my 
answer  upon  your  back,  I  would,  afore  I  let  ye  go." 

"  But  Master  Hezekiah  Tipton  is  my  own  uncle,"  said 
Jack. 


INTO   BONDAGE  81 

"  I  don't  know  anything  about  that,"  said  the  agent, 
"  'T  is  none  of  my  business." 

Jack  did  not  say  another  word.  He  crossed  the  deck, 
hardly  knowing  what  he  was  doing,  and  cHmbed  down 
into  the  boat,  where  the  other  transports  were  akeady 
seating  themselves.  A  moment  or  two,  and  the  agent 
followed,  and  then  immediately  the  boat  was  cast  loose. 
As  it  pulled  away  toward  the  shore.  Jack  gave  one  look 
back  across  the  widening  stretch  of  water.  It  was  almost 
like  a  di'eam ;  it  seemed  to  him  as  though  that  which  was 
passing  was  not  really  happening  to  him.  Dred's  red 
handkerchief  gleamed  like  a  flame  against  the  blue 
sky  as  he  stood  on  the  rail  looking  after  the  departing 
boat.  Then  Jack  turned  his  face  quickly  away.  He 
could  not  trust  himself  to  look  again,  lest  he  should 
break  down  before  all  the  boat-full  of  men. 

A  little  scattered  cluster  of  men  stood  upon  the  Wharf 
waiting  for  the  flat  boat  as  it  drew  nearer  and  nearer, 
and  when  it  struck  the  piling  with  a  bump  half  a  dozen 
willing  hands  caught  the  line  that  was  thrown  them 
and  made  it  fast.  Jack  scrambled  with  the  others  to 
the  wharf  under  the  curious  gaze  of  those  who  stood 
looking  on.  They  were  formed  into  a  line,  two  by  two, 
and  then  marched  down  the  wharf  toward  the  shore. 
The  loungers  followed  them  scatteringly.  Beyond 
the  wharf  they  crossed  a  narrow  strip  of  beach,  and 
climbed  a  sloping,  sandy  road  cut  through  the  high 
bluft'.  At  the  crest  they  came  out  upon  a  broad, 
grassy  street,  upon  which  fronted  the  straggling  houses, 
one  or  two  built  of  brick,  but  most  of  them  unpainted 
frame-structures,  with  tall,  sharp-pointed  roofs  and  out- 
side chimneys  of  brick.  A  curious  smoky  smell  per- 
vaded the  air.  People  stood  at  their  doors  looking  at 
Jack  and  his  companions  as  they  marched  two  by  two 
down  the  center  of  the  dusty  street. 

So  at  last  they  reached  and  were  halted  in  front 


82  JACK  BALLISTER'S   FOETUNES 

of  a  large  brick  warehouse.  Then  the  agent  opened 
the  door,  and  they  entered.  Within  it  was  perfectly 
emjDty,  and  smelt  damp  and  earthy  from  disuse.  The 
board  floor  was  sunken  unevenly,  and  the  plaster  was 
broken  from  the  walls  here  and  there  in  great  patches. 
The  two  windows,  which  looked  upon  the  rear  of  the 
adjoining  houses,  were  barred  across  with  iron.  Jack 
heard  his  companions  talking  together.  "  Well,  Jack," 
said  Sim  Tucker,  "  here  we  be  at  last." 

Jack  sometimes  wondered  whether  the  two  days  that 
followed  passed  very  quickly  or  very  slowly.  Food  was 
sent  over  three  times  a  day  to  the  warehouse  by  the 
agent,  and  twice  a  day  all  hands  were  allowed  to  walk 
about  for  a  few  minutes  in  a  little  yard  back  of  the 
building.  It  seemed  to  him  that  he  slept  nearly  all  the 
rest  of  the  time,  except  now  and  then  when  he  stood  on 
an  empty  box  looking  out  of  one  of  the  windows.  The 
windows  overlooked  a  yard  and  a  shed,  beyond  the  roof 
of  which  was  a  cluster  of  trees,  and  beyond  that  again 
two  tall  chimneys.  Nearly  always  there  were  pigeons 
on  the  roof  of  the  shed.  Now  and  then  there  was  the 
noise  of  their  clapping  flight,  but  the  gurgling  coo  of  the 
strutting  males  sounded  almost  continuously  through 
the  warm  silence. 

About  eleven  o'clock  of  the  third  day,  they  were 
brought  out  of  the  store-house,  formed  into  line  in  front 
of  the  building,  and  then  marched  away  in  the  hot  sun 
down  the  street  about  a  hundred  yards  to  the  custom- 
house. Jack  saw  a  lounging,  scattered  crowd  of  men 
there  gathered  in  a  little  group,  and  he  guessed  that 
that  was  where  they  were  to  be. sold. 

The  agent  and  the  auctioneer  stood  by  a  horse-block 
talking  together  in  low  tones  as  the  man  who  had 
marched  Jack  and  the  others  down  from  the  warehouse 
formed  them  in  line  against  the  wall  of  the  building. 


"'now    then,    gentlemen,    how    much    do    you    bid    foe    this    boy  i( 

SAID    THE    AUCTIONEEE." 


INTO   BONDAGE  83 

The  agent  held  a  slip  of  paper  in  his  hand,  which  he 
referred  to  every  now  and  then.  At  last  the  auctioneer 
mounted  upon  the  horse-block. 

"  Gentlemen,"  Jack  heard  him  say,  "  I  liave  now  to 
offer  as  fine  a  lot  of  servants  as  hath  ever  been  brought 
to  Virginia.  There  be  only  twenty,  gentlemen,  but 
every  one  choice  and  desirable.  Which  is  the  first  one 
you  have  upon  yom*  list,  Mr.  Quilleu  I "  said  he,  turning 
to  the  agent. 

The  agent  referred  to  a  slip  of  paper  he  held  in  his 
hand.  "  Sam  Dawson,"  he  called  out  in  a  loud  voice. 
"  Step  out,  Sam  Dawson ! "  and  in  answer  to  the  sum- 
mons a  big,  lumbering  man,  with  a  heavy  brow  and 
dull  face,  stepped  out  from  the  line  and  stood  beside 
the  horse-block. 

"  This  is  Sam  Dawson,  gentlemen,"  said  the  auctioneer, 
addressing  the  crowd.  "  He  hath  no  trade,  but  he  is  a 
first-rate,  healthy  fellow  and  well  fitted  for  the  tobacco 
fields.     He  is  to  be  sold  for  five  years." 

"  They  're  all  to  be  sold  for  five  years,"  said  the  agent. 

"You  have  heard,  gentlemen,"  said  the  auctioneer — 
"  they  're  all  to  be  sold  for  five  years.  This  is  a  fine  big 
fellow.  How  much  have  I  bid  for  him  f  How  much  f 
Ten  pounds  is  bid  for  his  time — ten  pounds  is  bid, 
gentlemen !  I  have  ten  pounds.  Now  I  have  twelve 
pounds !     Now  I  have  fifteen  pounds !  " 

In  a  minute  the  price  had  run  up  to  twenty  pounds, 
and  then  a  voice  said  quietly :  "  I  will  give  you  twenty- 
five  pounds  for  the  man." 

"Mr.  Simms  bids  twenty-five  pounds  for  the  man's 
time  in  behalf  of  Colonel  Birchall  Parker,"  said  the 
salesman.  "  Have  I  any  more  bids  for  him  ? "  But  Mr. 
Simms's  bid  seemed  to  close  the  sale,  for  no  one  appeared 
to  care  to  bid  against  him. 

Jack  had  been  so  dazed  and  bewildered  by  coming 
out  from  the  dark  and  chill  warehouse  into  the  sunlight 


84  JACK  BALLISTEK'S   FORTUNES 

and  life,  that  he  had  scarcely  noticed  anything  very 
l^articularly.  Now  he  looked  up  at  the  man  who  had 
bought  Sam  Dawson's  time,  and  saw  that  he  was  a  stout, 
red-faced,  plain-looking  man,  dressed  very  handsomely 
in  snuff-colored  clothes.  As  Jack  wondered  who  he 
was,  another  man  was  called  out  from  the  line  of  ser- 
vants. Again  the  bids  had  run  up  to  ten  or  twelve 
pounds,  and  then  again  Mr.  Simms  made  a  bid  of 
twenty-five  pounds,  and  once  more  no  one  bid  against 
him.  Another  man  and  another  man  were  sold,  and 
then  Jack  heard  his  own  name. 

"  Jack  Ballister ! "  called  the  agent.  "  Stand  out,  boy, 
and  be  quick  about  it ! "  and  Jack  mechanically  ad- 
vanced from  the  others  and  took  his  place  beside  the 
block,  looking  around  him,  as  he  did  so,  at  the  circle  of 
faces  fronting  him  and  all  staring  at  him.  His  mouth 
felt  very  dry,  and  his  heart  was  beating  and  pounding 
heavily.  "  Here  is  a  fine,  good  boy,  gentlemen,"  said  the 
salesman.  "  He  is  only  sixteen  years  old,  but  he  will  do 
well  as  a  ser\dng  or  waiting-man  in  some  gentleman's 
house  who  hath  need  of  such.  He  hath  education,  and 
reads  and  writes  freely.  Also,  as  you  may  see  for  your- 
selves, gentlemen,  he  is  strong  and  well  built.  A  lively 
boy,  gentlemen — a  good,  lively  boy !  Come,  boy,  run  to 
yonder  post  and  back,  and  show  the  gentlemen  how 
brisk  ye  be." 

Jack,  although  he  heard  the  words,  looked  dumbly  at 
the  speaker.  "  D'  ye  hear  me ! "  said  the  agent.  "  Do 
as  I  bid  ye ;  run  to  yonder  post  and  back ! " 

Then  Jack  did  so.  It  seemed  to  him  as  though  he 
were  running  in  a  nightmare.  As  he  returned  to  his 
place  he  heard  the  agent  saying :  "  The  boy  is  strong, 
but  doth  not  show  himself  off  as  well  as  he  might.  But 
he  is  a  good  boy,  as  you  may  see  for  yourselves."  The 
next  thing  he  knew  was  that  Mr.  Simms  had  bought 
him  for  twenty  pounds. 


CHAPTER  XI 

MARLBOROUGH 

MARLBOEOUGH  was  the  house  of  Colonel  Bh-ch- 
all  Parker.  It  was  in  its  day,  perhaps,  the  finest 
house  in  Virginia,  not  even  excepting  the  Governor's 
palace  at  Williamsburgh.  It  stood  upon  the  summit  of 
a  slope  of  the  shore  rising  up  from  the  banks  of  the 
James  River.  The  trees  in  front  nearly  hid  the  house 
from  the  river  as  you  passed,  but  the  chimneys  and  the 
roof  stood  up  above  the  foliage,  and  you  caught  a 
glimpse  of  the  brick  facade,  and  of  the  elaborate  door- 
way, through  an  opening  in  the  trees,  where  the  path  led 
up  from  the  landing-place  to  the  hall  door.  The  main 
house  was  a  large  two-storied  building  capped  by  a  tall, 
steep  roof.  From  the  center  building  long  wings 
reached  out  to  either  side,  terminating  at  each  end  in  a 
smaller  building  or  office  standing  at  right  angles  to  its 
wing,  and,  together  with  the  main  house,  inclosing  on 
three  sides  a  rather  shaggy,  grassy  lawn.  Prom  the 
front  you  saw  nothing  of  the  servants'  quarters  or  out- 
buildings (which  were  around  to  the  rear  of  the  house), 
but  only  the  imposing  fagade  with  its  wings  and  offices. 
Now  it  was  early  morning ;  Colonel  Birchall  Parker 
had  arisen,  and  his  servant  was  shaving  him.  He  sat 
by  the  open  window  in  his  dressing-gown,  and  with 
slippers  on  his  feet.  His  wig,  a  voluminous  mass  of 
finely  curled  black  hair,  hung  from  the  block  ready  for 
him  to  put  on.     The  sunlight  came  in  at  the  open  win- 

85 


86  JACK   BALLISTEE'S   FOKTUNES 

dow,  the  warm  mellow  breeze  just  stirring  tlie  linen 
curtains  drawn  back  to  either  side  and  bringing  with 
it  the  multitudinous  sounds  of  singing  birds  from  the 
thickets  beyond  the  garden.  The  bed-clothes  were 
thrown  off  from  a  mountainously  high  bed,  and  the 
wooden  steps,  down  which  Colonel  Parker  had  a  little 
while  before  descended  from  his  couch  to  the  bare 
floor,  were  still  standing  beside  the  curtained  bedstead. 
The  room  had  all  the  confused  look  of  having  just  been 
slept  in. 

Colonel  Parker  held  the  basin  under  his  chin  while 
the  man  shaved  him.  He  had  a  large,  benevolent  face, 
the  smooth  double  chin  just  now  covered  with  a  white 
m.ass  of  soap-suds.  As  he  moved  his  face  a  little  to  one 
side  to  receive  the  razor  he  glanced  out  of  the  open 
window.  "I  see  the  schooner  is  come  back  again, 
Robin,"  said  he. 

"  Yes,  your  honor,"  said  the  man,  "  it  came  back  last 
night." 

"  Were  there  any  letters  ? " 

"  I  don't  know,  your  honor ;  the  schooner  came  in 
about  midnight,  and  Mr.  Simms  is  not  about  yet."  The 
man  wiped  the  razor  as  he  spoke  and  began  whetting 
it  to  a  keener  edge.  "  Mr.  Richard  came  up  with  the 
schooner,  your  honor,"  said  he. 

"Did  he?" 

"  Yes,  your  honor,  and  Mr.  Simms  fetched  up  a  lot  of 
new  servants  with  him.  They  're  quartered  over  in  the 
empty  store-house  now.  Will  your  honor  turn  your 
face  a  little  this  way  ? " 

The  noises  of  newly  awakened  life  were  sounding 
clear  and  distinct  through  the  uucarpeted  wainscoted 
spaces  of  the  house  —  the  oiDcning  and  shutting  of 
doors,  the  sound  of  voices,  and  now  and  then  a  break 
of  laughter. 

The  great  hall  and  the  side  rooms  opening  upon  it, 


MARLBOROUGH  87 

when  Colouel  Parker  came  down-stairs,  were  fnll  of 
that  singularly  wide,  cool,  new  look  that  the  beginning 
of  the  morning  always  brings  to  accustomed  scenes. 
Mr.  Richard  Parker,  who  had  been  down  from  his  room 
some  time,  was  standing  outside  upon  the  steps  in  the 
fresh,  open  air.  He  turned  as  Colonel  Parker  came  out 
of  the  doorway.  "  Well,  brother  Richard,"  said  Colonel 
Parker,  "  I  am  glad  to  see  you ;  I  hope  you  are  well  ? " 

"  Thank  you,  sir,"  said  the  other,  bowing,  but  without 
any  change  in  his  expression.  "  I  hope  you  are  in 
good  health,  sir  1 " 

"  Why,  yes,"  said  Colonel  Parker,  "  I  believe  I  have 
naught  to  complain  of  now."  He  came  out  further 
upon  the  steps,  and  stood  at  a  little  distance,  with  his 
hands  clasped  behind  him,  looking  now  up  into  the 
sky,  now  down  the  vista  between  the  trees  and  across 
the  river. 

There  was  a  sound  of  fresh  young  voices  echoing 
through  the  upper  hall,  then  the  noise  of  laughter,  and 
presently  the  sound  of  rapid  feet  running  down  the  un- 
carpeted  stau'way.  Then  Eleanor  Parker  burst  out  of 
the  house  in  a  gale,  caught  her  father  by  the  coat,  and 
standing  on  her  tip-toes,  kissed  both  of  his  cheeks  in 
rapid  succession. 

Two  young  girl  visitors  and  a  young  man  of  sixteen 
or  seventeen  followed  her  out  of  the  house,  the  girls 
demurely,  the  young  man  with  somewhat  of  diffidence 
in  the  presence  of  Mr.  Richard  Parker. 

"My  dear,"  said  Colonel  Parker,  "do  you  not  then 
see  your  uncle  ? " 

"Why,  to  be  sm-e  I  do,"  said  she,  "but  how  could 
you  expect  me  to  see  anybody  until  I  had  first  kissed 
you.  How  do  you  do.  Uncle  Richard  ? "  and  she  offered 
him  her  cheek  to  kiss. 

Mr.  Richard  Parker  smiled,  but,  as  he  always  did,  as 
though  with  an  effort.      "  Why,  zounds,  Xell ! "  said  he. 


88  JACK   BALLISTEE'S   FOKTUNES 

"  sure  you  grow  prettier  every  day ;  how  long  do  you 
suppose 't  will  be  before  you  set  all  the  gentlemen  in  the 
colony  by  the  ears  ?  If  I  were  only  as  young  as  Rod- 
ney, yonder,  I  'd  be  almost  sorry  to  be  your  uncle,  ex- 
cept I  would  then  not  have  the  right  to  kiss  your  cheek 
as  I  have  just  done." 

The  young  girl  blushed  and  laughed,  with  a  flash  of 
her  eyes  and  a  sparkle  of  white  teeth  between  her  red 
lips.  "Why,  Uncle  Eichard,"  said  she,  "and  in  that 
case,  if  you  were  as  handsome  a  man  as  you  are  now, 
I  too  would  be  sorry  to  have  you  for  nothing  better 
than  an  uncle." 

Just  then  a  negro  appeared  at  the  door  and  an- 
nounced that  breakfast  was  ready,  and  they  all  went 
into  the  house. 

Mistress  Parker,  or  Madam  Parker,  as  she  was 
generally  called,  followed  by  her  negro  maid  carrying 
a  cushion,  met  them  as  they  entered  the  hall.  The 
three  younger  gentlemen  bowed  profoundly,  and  Madam 
Parker  sank  almost  to  the  floor  in  a  com'tesy  equally 
elaborate. 

She  was  a  thin  little  woman,  very  nervous  and  quick 
in  her  movements.  She  had  a  fine,  sensitive  face,  and, 
like  her  daughter,  very  dark  eyes,  only  they  were  quick 
and  brilliant,  and  not  soft  and  rich  like  those  of  the 
young  girl. 

The  morning  was  very  warm,  and  so,  after  breakfast 
was  over,  the  negroes  carried  chairs  out  upon  the  lawn 
under  the  shade  of  the  trees  at  some  little  distance 
from  the  house.  The  wide  red-brick  front  of  the  build- 
ing looked  down  upon  them  where  thej  sat,  the  elder 
gentlemen  smoking  each  a  long  clay  pipe  of  tobacco, 
while  Madam  Parker  sat  with  them  talking  intermit- 
tently. The  young  people  chatted  together  in  subdued 
voices  at  a  little  distance,  with  now  and  then  a  half- 
suppressed  break  of  laughter. 


MAELBOKOUGH  89 

"  I  hear,  brother  Richard,"  said  Colonel  Parker,  "  that 
Simras  brought  up  a  lot  of  servants  from  Yorktown." 

"  Yes,"  said  Mr.  Parker,  "  there  were  about  twenty 
altogether,  I  beheve.  And  that  brings  a  matter  into 
my  mind.  There  was  one  young  fellow  I  would  like 
very  much  to  have  if  you  can  spare  him  to  me— a  boy 
of  about  sixteen  or  seventeen.  I  have  no  house-servant 
since  Tim  died,  and  so,  if  you  have  a  mind  to  part  with 
this  lad,  sir,  I  'd  like  mightily  well  to  have  him." 

"Why,  brother  Richard,"  said  Colonel  Parker,  "if 
Simms  hath  no  use  for  the  boy  I  see  no  reason  why  you 
should  not  have  him.  What  hath  Simms  done  with 
him  ? " 

"  He  is  with  the  other  servants  over  at  the  old  store- 
house, I  believe,  sir;  Simms  had  them  sent  there  last 
night.    May  I  send  for  the  lad,  that  you  may  see  him  ? " 

"  I  should  be  glad  to  see  him,"  said  Colonel  Parker. 

Jack  had  come  up  from  Yorktown  packed  with  the 
other  servants  in  the  hold  of  the  schooner.  The  hatch 
was  tilted  to  admit  some  light  and  air,  but  he  could  see 
nothing  of  whither  he  was  being  taken,  and  his  only 
sense  of  motion  was  in  the  slant  of  the  vessel,  the  wind, 
and  the  rippling  gurgle  of  the  water  alongside. 

He  had  been  wakened  from  a  deep  sleep  to  be 
marched  past  a  clustering  group  of  darkly  black  trees, 
across  a  grassy  stretch  of  lawn,  in  the  silent  and  pro- 
foundly starry  night,  to  a  brick  building  into  which  he 
and  his  companions  were  locked,  as  they  had  been 
locked  in  the  old  warehouse  at  Yorktown. 

Now,  as  he  followed  the  negro  through  the  warm, 
bright  sunlight,  he  gazed  about  him,  half  bewildered 
with  the  newness  of  everything,  yet  with  an  intense 
and  vivid  interest.  He  had  seen  really  nothing  of  Marl- 
borough as  he  had  been  marched  up  from  the  landing 
place  at  midnight  with  his  companions  the  night  before. 


90  JACK   BAL,LISTEE'S   FOETUNES 

As  the  negro  led  him  around  the  end  of  the  building, 
he  gazed  up  curiously  at  the  wide  brick  front.  Then 
he  saw  that  there  was  a  party  of  ladies  and  gentlemen 
sitting  in  the  shade  across  the  lawn.  He  followed  the 
negTO  as  the  other  led  him  straight  toward  the  group, 
and  then  he  halted  at  a  little  distance,  not  knowing  just 
what  was  expected  of  him. 

Mr.  Richard  Parker  beckoned  to  him.  "  Come  hither, 
boy,"  said  he,  "  this  gentleman  wants  to  see  you."  Jack 
obeyed,  trjdng  not  to  aj^pear  ungainly  or  uncouth  in  his 
movements,  and  feeling  that  he  did  not  know  just  how 
to  succeed. 

"  Look  up,  boy ;  hold  up  your  head,"  said  a  gentleman 
whom  he  at  once  knew  to  be  the  great  Colonel  Parker 
of  whom  he  had  heard  —  a  large,  stout,  noble-looking 
gentleman,  with  a  broad,  smooth  chin  and  a  diamond 
solitaire  pinned  in  the  cravat  at  his  throat.  As  Jack 
obeyed  he  felt  rather  than  saw  that  a  pretty  young  lady 
was  standing  behind  the  gentleman's  chair,  looking  at 
him  with  large,  dark  eyes.  "Where  did  you  come 
from  ?  "  asked  the  gentleman. 

Jack,  with  the  gaze  of  everybody  upon  him,  felt  shy 
of  the  sound  of  his  own  voice.  "  I  came  from  South- 
ampton," said  he. 

"  Speak  up,  boy,  speak  up,"  said  the  gentleman. 

"I  came  from  SouthamiDton,"  said  Jack  again,  and 
this  time  it  seemed  to  him  that  his  voice  was  very  loud 
indeed. 

"  From  Southampton,  hey  ? "  said  the  gentleman.  He 
looked  at  Jack  very  critically  for  a  while  in  silence. 
"  Well,  brother  Richard,"  said  he  at  last,  "  't  is  indeed  a 
well-looking  lad,  and  if  Simms  hath  no  special  use  for 
him  I  will  let  you  have  him.  How  long  is  he  bound 
for?" 

"  Five  years,"  said  Mr.  Parker.  "  They  were  all  bound 
for  five  years.    I  spoke  to  Simms  about  him  yesterday, 


MAKLBOEOUGH  91 

aud  he  said  he  could  spare  him.  Simms  gave  twenty 
pounds  for  him,  and  I  will  be  willing  and  glad  enough 
to  pay  you  that  for  him." 

"Tut,  tut,  brother  Richard,"  said  Colonel  Parker, 
"  don't  speak  to  me  of  paying  for  him ;  indeed,  I  give 
him  to  you  very  willingly." 

"  Then,  indeed,  sir,  I  am  very  much  obliged  to  you. 
You  may  go  now,  boy."  Jack  hesitated  for  a  moment, 
not  knowing  clearly  if  he  understood.  "  You  may  go, 
I  said,"  said  Mr.  Richard  Parker  again.  And  then  Jack 
went  awa}^,  still  accompanied  by  the  negro. 

The  gloomy  interior  of  the  store-house  struck  chill 
upon  him  as  he  reentered  it  from  the  brightness  and 
heat  outside,  and  once  more  he  was  conscious  of  the 
dampness  and  all-pervading  earthy  smell.  The  trans- 
ports, huddled  together,  were  dull  and  silent.  One  or 
two  of  them  were  smoking,  others  lay  sleeping  heavily, 
others  sat  crouching  or  leaning  against  the  wall  doing 
nothing — perfectly  inert.  They  hardly  looked  up  as 
Jack  entered. 


CHAPTER  XII 

DOWN   THE   EIVER 

IT  was  the  next  moruing  that  the  door  of  the  store- 
house in  w^hich  Jack  and  his  compauions  were  con- 
fined was  suddenly  oj^eued  by  a  white  man.  He  was 
a  roughly-dressed  fellow,  with  a  shaggy  beard  and  with 
silver  ear-rings  in  his  ears.  "  Where  's  that  there  boy 
of  Mr.  Eichard  Parker's  ?  "  said  he. 

"  D'  ye  mean  me  ? "  said  Jack,  "  I  am  the  only  boy 
here." 

"  Why,  then,  if  you  are  the  only  boy  here,  you  must 
be  the  one,"  said  the  man  with  a  grin.  "  Come  along 
with  me,"  he  added,  "  and  be  quick  about  it." 

"  Am  I  going  for  good  and  all  f "  asked  Jack. 

"  I  reckon  ye  be." 

The  other  redemptiouers  had  roused  themselves 
somewhat  at  the  coming  of  the  man  and  were  listening. 
"  Good-by,  Jack,"  said  one  of  them,  as  he  was  about  to 
go,  and  the  others  took  up  the  words:  "Grood-by  — 
good-by,  Jack."  "Good-by,"  said  Jack.  He  shook 
hands  with  them  all,  and  then  he  and  the  man  went  out 
into  the  bright  sunlight. 

His  conductor  led  the  way  down  back  of  the  great 
house,  and  past  a  clustered  group  of  cabins,  in  front  of 
which  a  numl^er  of  negro  children  played  like  monkeys, 
half  naked  and  bareheaded,  who  stopped  their  antics 
and  stood  in  the  sun,  and  watched  Jack  as  he  passed, 
while  some  negro  women  came  to  the  doors  and  stood 
also  watching  him. 

92 


DOWN   THE  EIVER  93 

"  Won't  you  tell  me  where  I  'm  going  to  be  taken  f  " 
said  Jack,  quickening  his  steps  so  as  to  come  up  along- 
side of  his  conductor. 

"  You  're  going  with  Mr.  Richard  Parker,"  said  the 
man.  "  I  reckon  he  '11  be  taking  you  down  to  the  Eoost 
with  him," 

"  The  Roost  ?  "  said  Jack,  "  and  where  is  the  Roost  ? " 

"  Why,  the  Roost  is  Mr.  Parker's  house.  It 's  some 
thirty  or  forty  mile  down  the  river." 

As  they  were  speaking  they  had  come  out  past  a 
group  of  trees  at  the  end  of  the  great  house,  and  upon 
the  edge  of  the  slope.  From  where  they  were  they 
looked  down  to  the  shore  of  the  river,  and  upon  a  large 
flat-boat  with  a  great  square  sail  that  lay  at  the  landing 
place,  a  rod  or  so  away.  There  was  a  pile  of  bags,  and 
a  lot  of  boxes  and  bundles  of  various  sorts  lying  upon 
the  wharf  in  the  sun.  Three  or  four  negro  men  were 
slowly  and  indolently  carrying  the  bags  aboard  the 
flat-boat. 

"  Are  we  going  down  the  river  in  that  boat  ? "  asked 
Jack,  as  he  descended  the  slope  at  the  heels  of  the  other. 

"  Yes,"  said  the  man  briefly. 

On  the  bank  at  the  end  of  the  wharf  was  a  square 
brick  building,  in  the  shade  of  which  stood  Mr.  Simms 
and  Mr.  Parker,  the  latter  smoking  a  cigarro.  Mr. 
Simms  held  in  his  hand  a  slip  of  paper,  upon  which  he 
kept  the  tally  of  the  bags  as  they  were  carried  aboard. 
Jack  went  out  along  the  wharf,  watching  the  negro  men 
at  work,  until  Mr.  Simms  called  out :  "  Get  aboard  the 
boat,  young  man."  Thereupon  he  stepped  into  the 
boat,  climbing  over  the  seats  to  the  bow,  where  he 
settled  himself  easily  upon  some  bags  of  meal,  and 
whence  he  watched  the  slow  loading  of  the  boat. 

At  last  everything  was  taken  aboard.  "We  're 
all  ready  now,  Mr.  Simms,"  called  out  the  man  who  had 
brought  Jack  down  from  the  storehouse. 


94  JACK   BALLISTER'S   FOETUNES 

Mr,  Parker  and  Mr.  Simms  came  down  the  wharf 
together.  Mr.  Parker  stepped  aboard  the  scow,  and 
immediately  it  was  cast  loose  and  pushed  off  from  the 
landing. 

"  Good-by,  Mr.  Parker,  sir,"  called  Mr.  Simms  across 
the  widening  stretch  of  water,  and  he  lifted  his  hat  as 
he  spoke.  Mr.  Parker  nodded  a  brief  reply.  The  boat 
drifted  farther  and  farther  away  with  the  sweeping 
stream  as  the  negro  rowers  settled  themselves  in  their 
places,  and  Mr.  Simms  still  stood  on  the  wharf  look- 
ing after  them.  Then  the  oars  creaked  in  the  row- 
locks and  the  head  of  the  boat  came  slowly  around  in 
the  direction  intended.  Jack,  lying  upon  and  amid  the 
meal  bags,  looked  out  astern.  Before  him  were  the 
naked,  sinewy  backs  of  the  eight  negro  oarsmen,  and 
away  in  the  stern  sat  the  white  man  —  he  was  the 
overseer  of  the  North  Plantation — and  Mr.  Parker,  who 
was  just  lighting  a  fresh  cigarro.  Presently  the  oars 
sounded  with  a  ceaseless  chug,  chug,  in  the  rowlocks, 
and  then  the  overseer  left  the  tiller  for  a  moment  and 
came  forward  and  trimmed  the  square,  brown  sail,  that 
now  swelled  out  smooth  and  round  with  the  sweep  of 
the  wind.  The  rugged,  wooded  shores  crept  slowly 
past  them,  and  the  now  distant  wharf  and  brick  build- 
ings, and  the  long  front  of  the  great  house  perched 
upon  the  slope,  dropped  further  and  further  astern. 
Then  the  flat-boat  crept  around  the  bend  of  the  river, 
and  house  and  wharf  were  shut  off  by  an  intervening 
point  of  land. 

Jack  could  not  but  feel  the  keen  novelty  of  it  all. 
The  sky  was  warm  and  clear.  The  bright  surface  of 
the  water,  driven  by  the  breeze,  danced  and  sparkled 
in  the  drifting  sunlight.  It  was  impossible  that  he 
should  not  feel  a  thrill  of  interest  that  was  like  delight 
in  the  newness  of  everything. 

About  noon  the  overseer  brought  out  a  hamper-like 


DOWN   THE   EIVER  95 

basket,  which  he  opened,  and  from  which  he  took  a 
plentiful  supply  of  food.  A  couple  of  cold  roast  pota- 
toes, a  great  lump  of  Indian-corn  bread,  and  a  thick 
slice  of  ham  were  passed  forward  to  Jack.  It  seemed 
to  him  that  he  had  never  tasted  anything  so  good. 

After  he  had  finished  his  meal  he  felt  very  sleepy. 
He  curled  himself  down  upon  the  bags  in  the  sunlight, 
and  presently  dozed  off. 

The  afternoon  sun  was  slanting  when  he  was  aroused 
by  a  thumping  and  bumping  and  a  stir  on  board.  He 
opened  his  eyes,  and  sat  up  to  see  that  the  boat  had 
again  stopped  at  a  landing-place.  It  was  a  straggling, 
uneven  wharf,  at  the  end  of  which,  upon  the  shore, 
was  an  open  shed.  Thence  a  rough  and  rugged  road 
ran  up  the  steep  bluff  bank,  and  then  turned  away  into 
the  woody  wilderness  beyond.  A  wagon  with  a  non- 
descript team  of  oxen  and  mules,  and  half  a  dozen 
men,  black  and  white,  were  waiting  beside  the  shed  at 
the  end  of  the  wharf  for  the  coming  of  the  flat-boat. 

Then  followed  the  unloading  of  the  boat. 

Mr.  Parker  had  gone  ashore,  and  Jack  could  see  him 
and  the  overseer  talking  together  and  inspecting  a 
small  boat  that  lay  pulled  up  from  the  water  iipon  a 
little  strip  of  sandy  beach.  Jack  himself  climbed  out 
from  the  boat  upon  the  wharf,  where  he  walked  up  and 
down,  stretching  himself  and  watching  those  at  work. 
Presently  he  heard  some  one  calling,  "  Where  's  that 
young  fellow  1    Hi,  you,  come  here  ! " 

Then  Jack  saw  that  they  had  made  ready  the  smaller 
boat  at  which  they  had  been  looking,  and  had  got  the 
sail  hoisted  upon  it ;  it  flapped  and  beat  in  the  wind.  A 
little  group  stood  about  it,  and  Jack  saw  that  they  were 
waiting  for  him.  He  ran  along  the  wharf,  and  jumped 
down  from  it  to  the  little  strip  of  sandy  beach.  They 
were  in  the  act  of  pushing  off  the  boat  when  he  climbed 
aboard.    As  it  slid  off  into  the  water  Mr.  Parker  stepped 


96  JACK  BALLISTEK'S   FOKTUNES 

into  it.  Two  men  ran  splashing  tlirongh  the  water  and 
j)nshecl  it  off,  and  as  it  reached  the  deeper  water,  one 
of  them  jumped  in  over  the  stern  with  a  dripping  splash 
of  his  bare  feet,  catching  the  tiller  and  trimming  the 
sail  as  he  did  so,  and  bringing  the  bow  of  the  boat 
around  before  the  mnd.  Then  there  was  a  gurgling- 
ripple  of  water  under  the  bows  as  the  wind  filled  the 
sail  more  strongly,  and  presently  the  wharf  and  the 
flat-boat  dropped  rapidly  astern,  and  once  more  Jack 
was  sailing  down  the  river,  while  wooded  shores  and 
high  bluff  banks,  alternating  one  another,  drifted  by, 
and  were  dropped  away  behind. 


CHAPTER  Xin 


THE   EOOST 


THE  sun  had  set,  and  the  dusk  was  falling  rapidly. 
The  boat  was  running  toward  a  precipitous  bluff 
shore,  above  the  crest  of  which,  and  some  forty  or  fifty 
yards  inland,  loomed  the  indistinct  form  of  a  house, 
the  two  tall  chimneys  standing  out  sharply  against  the 
fading  sky.  There  was  a  dark  mass  of  trees  on  the 
one  side,  and  what  appeared  to  be  a  cluster  of  huts  on 
the  other.  The  barking  of  two  or  three  dogs  sounded 
distantly  across  the  water,  and  a  dim  light  shone  from 
one  of  the  windows.  The  boat  drew  nearer  and  nearer 
to  the  dark  shore ;  then  at  last,  with  a  grinding  jar  of 
the  keel  upon  the  beach,  the  journey  was  ended. 

A  flight  of  high,  ladder-like  steps  reached  from  the 
sandy  beach  to  the  summit  of  the  bluff.  Jack  followed 
Mr.  Parker  up  this  stairway,  leaving  the  man  who  had 
brought  them  to  furl  and  tie  the  sail.  Excepting  the 
barking  of  dogs  and  the  light  in  the  window,  there  was 
at  first  no  sign  of  life  about  the  place  as  they  ap- 
proached. Then  suddenly  there  was  a  pause  in  the 
dogs'  barking;  then  a  renewed  clamorous  burst  from 
half  a  dozen  throats  at  once.  Suddenly  the  light  in 
the  room  began  to  flicker  and  move,  and  Jack  could 
see  a  number  of  dim  forms  come  around  the  end  of  the 
house.  The  next  minute  a  wide  door  was  opened,  and 
the  figure  of  a  woman  appeared,  holding  a  candle  above 
her  head.   Instantly  half  a  dozen  hounds  burst  out  of  the 


97 


98  JACK   BALLISTER'S   FORTUNES 

house  from  behind  her  and  came  rushing  down  toward 
Jack  and  Mr.  Parker,  barking  and  baying. 

Mr.  Parker  paid  no  attention  to  the  dogs,  but  led  the 
way  directly  up  the  flight  of  tall,  steep  steps  and  into 
the  hallway.  He  nodded  to  the  woman  as  he  passed, 
speaking  briefly  to  her,  and  calling  her  Peggy. 

She  was  rather  a  handsome  woman,  with  a  broad 
face  and  black  hair  and  eyes.  She  stood  aside  and  the 
master  passed  her  into  the  house.  Jack  following  close 
at  his  heels.  "  Here  are  two  letters  for  you,"  said  the 
woman,  and  she  gave  them  to  him  from  the  table;  and 
Mr.  Parker,  without  laying  aside  his  hat,  took  them, 
tore  one  of  them  open  and  began  reading  it  by  the 
light  of  the  candle  which  she  held  for  him.  As  he 
read,  his  eyebrows  drew  together  into  a  knot  of  a  frown, 
and  his  handsome  florid  face  lowered. 

Meantime  Jack  stood  gazing  about  him  at  the  large, 
barren  hallway  barely  lit  by  the  light  of  the  candle.  At 
the  further  end  he  could  just  distinguish  the  dim 
form  of  a  broad  bare,  stairway  leading  up  to  the  floor 
above.  It  seemed  to  be  very  cheerless,  and  he  felt 
strange  and  lonely  in  the  dark,  gloomy  space.  Several 
negroes  were  standing  just  outside  of  the  door,  looking 
in ;  he  could  see  their  forms  dimly  in  the  darkness. 
They  appeared  weird  and  unreal,  with  their  black  faces 
and  shining  teeth. 

Suddenly  Mr.  Parker  looked  up  from  the  letter  he 
was  reading  and  bade  the  woman,  Peggy,  to  take  Jack 
out  to  the  kitchen  and  to  give  him  something  to  eat. 

When  Jack  entered  the  kitchen  he  found  the  man 
who  had  brought  him  and  Mr.  Parker  down  the  river 
in  the  boat,  sitting  at  the  table  eating,  while  a  bare- 
foot negro  woman,  with  necklace  and  bracelets  of  blue 
glass  beads,  waited  upon  him.  The  man  looked  up  and 
welcomed  Jack  as  he  came  in,  and  then  almost  imme- 
diately began  asking  him  questions   about  England. 


THE   KOOST  99 

The  feeling  of  loneliness  and  depression  was  settling 
more  and  more  heavily  upon  Jack's  spirits,  and  he  re- 
plied vaguely  hardly  knowing  what  were  the  questions 
asked  him,  or  what  he  said  in  answer.  After  he  had 
ended  his  supper,  he  went  and  stood  in  the  doorway, 
looking  out  into  the  starlit  night.  He  thought  he  saw 
the  dim  forms  of  human  figures  moving  about  in  the 
gloom,  and  the  black  outlines  of  rude  buildings.  The 
warm  darkness  was  full  of  the  ceaseless  whispering 
noises  of  night,  broken  now  and  then  by  the  sudden 
sound  of  loud  gabbling  negi'o  voices.  The  mocking- 
birds were  singing  with  intermittent  melody  from  the 
dark  stillness  of  the  distant  woods.  His  feeling  of  de- 
pression seemed  to  weigh  upon  Jack's  soul  like  a  leaden 
weight.  He  could  almost  have  cried  in  his  loneliness 
and  homesickness. 

When  Jack  woke  at  the  dawning  of  the  next  day, 
in  the  little  bare  room  at  the  end  of  the  upper  hall 
where  he  slept  within  easy  call  of  Mr.  Parker's  voice, 
he  did  not  at  first  know  where  he  was.  Then  instantly 
came  recollection,  and  with  it  a  keen  longing  to  see  his 
new  surroundings.  He  arose,  di-essed  hastily,  and  went 
down- stairs  and  out  of  doors.  Everything  looked 
very  different  in  the  wide  clear  light  of  early  morning. 
The  buildings  he  had  seen  in  the  blackness  of  the 
night  before  resolved  into  a  clustered  jumble  of  negro 
huts, — some  of  frame,  some  of  wattled  sticks, — about 
which  moved  the  wild  figures  of  the  half-savage  black 
men,  women,  and  children. 

Jack  walked  out  into  the  open  yard,  and  tui-ned  and 
looked  back  at  the  house. 

It  was  a  great  rambling  frame  structure,  weather- 
beaten  and  gray.  Several  of  the  windows  were  open, 
and  out  of  one  of  them  hung  a  patchwork  bed-coverlet, 
moving   lazily  now  and  then  in  the  wind.     A  thin 


100  JACK  BALLISTER'S   FORTUNES 

wreath  of  smoke  curled  away  from  one  of  the  chimneys 
into  the  blue  air.  Everything  looked  very  fresh  and 
keen  in  the  bright  light  of  the  morning. 

A  lot  of  negro  children  had  been  playing  about  the 
huts,  some  of  them  entu*ely  naked.  They  ceased  their 
play  aijd  stood  staring  at  Jack  as  he  came  out  into 
the  open  yard,  and  a  negro  lad  of  about  his  own  age, 
who  was  standing  in  the  door  of  a  wattled  hut  at  a 
little  distance,  came  over  and  spoke  to  him.  The  black 
boy  was  lean  and  lanky,  with  over-grown,  spider-like 
legs  and  arms.  He  had  a  little  round,  nut-like  head 
covered  with  a  close  felt  of  wool.  "  Hi,  boy ! "  he 
said,  when  he  had  come  up  close  to  Jack,  "  what  your 
name  ?  " 

"My  name  's  Jack  Ballister,"  said  Jack;  "what  's 
your  name?" 

"  My  name  Little  Coffee,"  and  the  negro  boy  grinned 
with  a  flash  of  his  white  teeth. 

"  Little  Coffee !  Why,  to  be  sure,  that 's  a  very  queer 
name  for  any  Christian  soul  to  have,"  said  Jack. 

The  negro  boy's  grin  disappeared  into  quick  dark- 
ness. "My  name  no  queer,"  he  said,  with  a  sudden 
childish  sullenness.  "  My  name  Little  Coffee  all  right. 
My  fader  Big  Coffee— I  Little  Coffee." 

"  Well,"  said  Jack,  "  I  never  heard  of  anybody  named 
Coffee  in  all  my  life  before." 

"  Where  you  come  from  ? "  asked  the  negro  boy. 

"  I  came  from  England,"  said  Jack ;  "  we  drink  coffee 
there ;  we  don't  give  Coffee  as  a  name  to  Christian  souls. 
Where  do  you  come  from.  Coffee?" 

"Me  come  nowhere,"  said  Coffee,  with  a  returning 
grin.     "  Me  born  here  in  yan  house." 

Beyond  the  row  of  negro  huts  was  a  small  wooden 
cabin  of  a  better  appearance  than  the  others.  Sud- 
denly a  white  man  came  out  of  the  door  of  this  hut, 
stood  looking  for  a  moment,  and  then  walked  forward 


THE   ROOST  101 

toward  Jack.  It  was  Dennis,  the  overseer.  He — unless 
Peggy  Pitcher  be  excepted — became  almost  the  most 
intimate  friend  Jack  had  for  the  two  months  or  so  that 
he  lived  at  the  Roost;  and  in  this  curiously  strange 
fragment  of  his  life,  perhaps  the  most  vivid  recollec- 
tions that  remained  with  him  in  his  after  memory  were 
of  intervals  of  time  spent  in  Dennis's  hut ;  of  the  great 
black,  sooty  fireplace ;  of  the  shelf -like  floor  at  the  fur- 
ther end  of  the  cabin,  where  was  the  dim  form  of  the 
bed  with  the  bright  coverlet;  of  Dennis's  negro  wife, 
pattering  about  the  earthen  floor  in  her  bare  feet,  her 
scant  red  petticoat  glowing  like  a  flame  of  fire  in  the 
shadowy  interior;  of  Dennis  himself,  crouching  over 
the  smoldering  ashes,  smoking  his  Indian  clay  pipe  of 
tobacco.  As  Dennis  now  approached.  Jack  thought 
that  he  had  hardly  ever  seen  a  stranger-looking  figure, 
for  a  pair  of  gold  earrings  twinkled  in  his  ears,  a 
broad  hat  of  woven  grass  shaded  his  face,  he  wore  a 
pair  of  loose  white  cotton  drawers,  and  a  red  beard 
covered  his  cheeks  and  chin  and  throat.  "I  do  sup- 
pose," said  Dennis,  when  he  had  come  close  enough  to 
Jack — "  I  do  suppose  that  you  are  the  new  boy  that 
came  last  night." 

"Yes,"  said  Jack,  "I  am." 


CHAPTER  XIV 


IN   ENGLAND 


IT  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  Jack  could  have  disap- 
peared so  suddenly  and  entirely  as  he  had  done 
without  leaving  behind  him  much  talk  and  wonder  as 
to  what  had  become  of  him. 

One  day,  for  instance,  Mr.  Stetson  stopped  old  Heze- 
kiah  in  the  street  and  began  asking  after  Jack.  "I 
know  nought  of  him.  Master  Stetson,"  said  the  old  man. 
"  He  always  was  a  main  discontented,  uneasy  lad  as 
ever  I  see.  Time  and  time  again  have  he  talked  to  me 
about  running  away  to  sea — and  that,  whenever  I 
would  tell  him  't  was  time  for  him  to  be  earning  his 
own  living  by  honest,  decent  work." 

"  But,  Mr.  Tipton,"  said  the  rector,  "  I  do  hear  talk 
that  he  hath  been  kidnapped." 

"  Mayhap  he  have  been,"  said  Hezekiah;  "  but  I  know 
naught  of  him." 

"  And  are  you  not,  then,  going  to  do  anything  to  try 
to  find  him  ? "  cried  out  the  good  old  rector.  "  Sure, 
you  would  leave  no  stone  unturned  to  discover  what 
hath  become  of  your  nephew." 

"What  can  I  do,  master?"  said  Hezekiah,  almost 
whining.  "I  'm  main  sorry  Jacky  be  gone,  and  am 
willing  to  do  whatever  I  can  for  to  find  him  again,  but 
what  can  I  do  ?  " 

"  Why,  Master  Tipton,"  said  the  rector,  "  that,  me- 
seems,  is  your  affair  and  not  mine.    I  can  hardly  tell 


102 


IN  ENGLAND  103 

you  how  to  set  about  doing  your  own  duty  in  this  thing. 
But  sure  am  I  you  should  do  whatever  you  can  to  find 
what  hath  become  of  your  poor  nephew." 

It  was  the  very  general  opinion  that  Jack  Ballister 
had  been  kidnapped,  and  nearly  every  one  surmised 
that  old  Hezekiah  himself  had  had  a  hand  in  it.  If  any 
of  this  talk  reached  Hezekiah's  own  ears  he  paid  no  at- 
tention to  it,  but  went  his  way  either  unconscious  of 
or  indifferent  to  all  that  his  neighbors  said  about  him. 

Then,  one  morning,  the  old  America  merchant  re- 
ceived a  communication  from  the  little  attorney,  Bur- 
ton, telling  him  that  if  he  would  stop  at  his  (the  attor- 
ney's) office,  betwixt  the  hours  of  three  and  five  in  the 
afternoon,  he  should  receive  certain  news  in  re  John 
Ballister  that  might  be  of  interest  to  him. 

The  old  man  came  promptly  at  three  o'clock,  and 
found  the  little  lawyer  rustling  among  a  litter  of  papers 
like  a  little  gray  mouse.  He  had  a  great  pair  of  bar- 
nacle glasses  perched  astride  his  nose,  and  he  pushed 
them  up  on  his  sharp  bony  forehead,  where  they 
gleamed  like  two  disks  of  brightness  as  he  turned 
around  to  face  the  old  man.  There  was  a  moment  or 
two  of  silence,  broken  at  last  by  the  old  America 
merchant. 

"  Well,  master,"  said  he,  lifting  his  wig  and  wiping  the 
bald  pate  beneath  with  a  red  handkerchief — "Well, 
master,  here  I  be;  and  what  is  it  you  have  to  say  to 
me  about  my  nephew — about  Jacky?  I  be  in  a  vast 
hurry  this  art'noon,  master,  and  wait  here  with  great 
business  upon  my  hands." 

"  Perhaps  so,  but  I  dare  say  you  have  time  to  listen 
to  me,  though,"  said  the  attorney.  "  For  what  I  have 
to  say  concerns  you  very  nearly,  Master  Tipton." 

Then  he  opened  the  lid  of  the  desk  and  brought  out 
from  a  pigeonhole  a  bundle  of  papers  tied  up  with 
a  piece  of  tape.     "  Some  time  ago.  Master  Tipton," 


104  JACK  BALLISTER'S   FORTUNES 

he  said,  "  Sir  Henry  Ballister,  who  is  an  honored 
cHent  of  mine,  gave  me  instructions  to  look  after  his 
nephew,  John  Ballister,  who  was  left  by  his  father  in 
your  ward.  When  the  young  man  disappeared  I  wrote 
to  Sir  Henry  to  that  effect,  and  received  from  him 
further  instructions  to  inquire  into  the  affair." 

The  little  lawyer  had  been  untying  the  packet  while 
speaking.  He  now  spread  the  papers  out  in  front  of 
him,  touching  them  one  by  one  as  he  continued :  "  First 
of  all,  Master  Tipton,"  he  said,  "I  heard  it  reported 
that,  when  last  seen.  Master  John  Ballister  was  in 
company  with  one  of  your  own  crimps  and  a  party  of 
redemption  servants  you  were  shipping  to  the  Amer- 
icas. I  found,  further,  that  the  crimp's  name  was 
Weems — Israel  Weems.  Here  is  a  letter  from  Weems 
in  answer  to  one  from  me,  in  which  letter  he  acknow- 
ledges that  Master  John  Ballister  was  with  him  the 
night  that  the  servants  were  shipped,  and  that  he  did 
not  again  see  the  young  man  after  leaving  him  at  the 
wharf.  Here  is  another  communication  from  John 
Barkley,  merchant,  of  London,  relating  to  the  cargo  of 
the  Arundel,  in  which  it  is  supposed  the  young  man 
was  carried  away.  He  specified  that  there  were  but 
nineteen  servants  to  be  shipped  from  this  port  to  the 
Virginia  plantations.  These  are  my  notes  taken  during 
a  cui'sory  examination  of  Jonah  Doe,  landlord  of  the 
G-olden  Fish  Inn."  And  so  the  little  man  continued, 
recapitulating  his  evidence,  and  touching,  as  he  spoke 
of  them,  the  different  papers  spread  out  on  the  desk 
before  him.  "  The  result  of  aU  this,  Master  Hezekiah 
Tipton,"  he  concluded,  "is  that  it  is  perfectly  con- 
clusive to  my  mind  that  Master  John  Ballister  hath 
been  kidnapped  and  carried  away  to  the  Virginias.  I 
don't  say  that  you  had  a  hand  in  the  business.  Master 
Tipton  — I  would  be  loath  to  suppose  so,  and  to  so 
accuse  a  fellow-townsman  and  an  old  acquaintance; 


IN  ENGLAND  105 

but  't  is  my  belief  your  nephew  hath  been  stole,  and 
I  would  like  to  hear  what  you  yourself  have  to  say 
about  it." 

Old  Hezekiah  did  not  reply  immediately.  He  sat  f oi- 
a  while  staring  absently  at  the  other  as  though  not  see- 
ing him.  Then  suddenly  he  aroused  himself  almost  as 
with  a  start.  "  Hey  ? "  he  said,  "  How  ?  Oh,  ay !  what 
you  say  appeareth  all  very  true,  Master  Burton.  But — 
will  you  let  me  see  them  papers  I " 

"  To  be  sure  I  will,"  said  the  other ;  "  and  if  you  can 
explain  the  business  satisfactorily,  Master  Tipton,  and 
if  you  can  satisfy  Sir  Henry  Ballister  that  his  nephew 
is  safe  and  sound,  and  shall  be  duly  fetched  back  again 
with  no  ill  having  befallen  him,  why,  I,  for  one,  will  be 
as  glad  as  glad  can  be." 

"  That 's  right,  that 's  right,"  said  the  old  man,  almost 
briskly.  He  adjusted  his  spectacles  as  he  spoke,  and 
then  opened  the  first  paper  of  the  packet  and  began 
slowly  and  deliberately  reading  it.  Then  he  took  up 
the  second  and  gave  it  a  like  close  and  deliberate 
scrutiny,  and  so  on  through  the  packet. 

"  Well,  Master  Hezekiah,"  said  the  attorney,  when  the 
other  had  finished  the  perusal  of  the  packet,  "now 
you  've  read  these  papers,  what  do  you  think  of  'em, 
and  what  do  you  intend  to  do  about  this  business  ?  I 
will  report  to  Sir  Henry  Ballister  just  what  you  choose 
for  me  to  say." 

The  old  man  did  not  reply  immediately.  He  had 
taken  up  his  spectacles  again,  and  was  rubbing  them 
and  rubbing  them  with  his  red  bandana  handkerchief. 
"  Those  papers.  Master  Burton,"  said  he,  at  last,  "  bear 
mightily  hard  upon  me.  They  make  it  appear  like  I 
kidnapped  Jacky  myself.  Here  be  you  spending  all 
your  time  a-hunting  up  evidence  to  make  it  look  like 
as  though  I  had  dealt  foul  with  my  own  flesh  and 
blood — and  you  a  neighbor  of  mine,  and  I  one  who 


106  JACK  BALLISTER'S   FORTUNES 

hath  put  many  and  many  a  good  guinea's  worth  of 
work  into  your  way." 

"  That  last  is  true  enough,  Master  Tipton,"  said  the 
little  lawyer;  "and,  as  I  said  before,  I,  for  one,  have 
no  wish  to  do  aught  to  harm  you.  Just  you  think, 
Master  Tipton, — that  was  why  I  sent  for  you  to  come 
and  see  me;  else  I  would  have  sent  these  papers 
straight  to  Sir  Henry  Ballister  instead  of  showing 
them,  first  of  all,  to  you." 

"  I  be  much  beholden  to  you,  neighbor,"  said  the  old 
man.  "But  these  papers  look  mightily  ill  for  me. 
Suppose  anything  should  happen  to  you,  and  those 
papers  should  fall  into  strange  hands;  how  would  it 
be  with  me  then  1     Ha'  ye  thought  of  that  ? " 

"Ay,  ay,"  said  the  little  lawyer,  "I  have  thought 
of  it,  and  it  is  all  arranged  for.  Master  Tipton.  If 
aught  should  happen  to  me,  I  have  so  arranged  it 
that  only  a  part  of  these  papers  go  to  Sir  Henry  Bal- 
lister. All  that  concerns  you  is  cared  for,  so  that  no 
harm  shall  happen  you." 

"  I  be  much  beholden  to  you,  neighbor,"  said  the  old 
man  again. 

"And  now,"  said  the  attorney,  after  another  little 
pause  of  silence,  "what  have  you  to  say.  Master  Tip- 
ton ?     What  am  I  to  write  to  Sir  Henry  Ballister  ?  " 

Then  the  old  America  merchant  arose:  "Well,  mas- 
ter," said  he,  "  all  this  be  so  sudden  that,  to  be  sure, 
I  don't  know  what  to  say.  Give  me  time  to  think  over 
it,  and  then  I  will  talk  to  you  in  full  some  other  day. 
Let  me  see;  this  be  Wednesday.  On  Friday  next  I 
'11  meet  you  here,  and  tell  you  all  that  I  have  to  say. 
Can  you  give  me  so  long  as  that  f " 

"To  be  sure  I  can,"  said  the  lawyer.  "Take  your 
own  time,  and  't  will  suit  me." 

"  Very  well,  then,  on  Friday  next,"  said  the  old  man. 


IN   ENGLAND  107 

It  was  the  next  day  that  the  little  lawyer  returned 
home  by  night  from  the  King's  Arms  Coffee-House, 
where  he  used  to  spend  an  occasional  bachelor's  even- 
ing gossiping  with  his  cronies  over  his  toddy,  or  talking 
politics. 

It  was  maybe  ten  o'clock  when  he  left  the  coffee- 
house. There  was  a  chill  drizzling  rain  falling,  and 
the  little  lawyer  shuddered  as  he  stepped  out  into  the 
darkness,  gathering  his  wrap-rascal  more  closely  about 
him  and  turning  up  the  collar  about  his  ears.  The 
night,  coming  as  he  did  into  it  from  the  lights  of 
the  warm  coffee-house,  appeared  as  dark  as  pitch. 
The  little  lawyer  took  the  middle  of  the  street  just  lit 
by  the  occasional  dim  light  of  a  corner  lamp.  There 
were  few  folks  stirring,  and  only  now  and  then  the  sound 
of  a  voice  or  a  distant  footstep.  The  far-away  baying 
of  a  dog  sounded  from  out  the  more  distant  hollow  of 
the  wet  night.  The  little  attorney  was  recapitulating 
in  his  mind  the  points  of  an  argument  he  had  had  with 
the  writer  Willowood  during  the  evening.  He  had 
had  the  better  of  the  question,  and  he  felt  a  warm 
glow  of  pleasure  as  he  went  stumbling  through  the 
night,  as  he  thought,  point  by  point,  of  the  advantage  he 
had  had  in  the  discussion.  There  was  some  one  walk- 
ing behind  him,  and  it  came  into  his  mind  to  think 
how  easy  it  would  be  for  some  one  to  knock  him  upon 
the  head  without  his  neighbors  being  any  the  wiser. 
Then  he  began  again  thinking  of  how  he  had  answered 
Master  WiUowood. 

The  thought  of  a  possible  attack  upon  himself  came 
into  his  mind  again  as  he  reached  the  mouth  of  the  dark 
court  upon  which  fronted  his  own  house,  and  he  paused 
for  a  moment  before  he  turned  into  the  black  and  silent 
street.  In  the  stillness  he  could  hear  the  rain  pattering 
and  dripping  everywhere,  and  there  was  a  light  shining 


108  JACK  BALLISTER'S   FORTUNES 

dimly  from  an  upper  window  of  a  house  further  down 
the  court. 

The  attorney  thought  he  heard  soft  footsteps  near 
him,  and  he  was  in  the  act  of  tiu*ning  to  satisfy  him- 
self that  he  was  mistaken,  when  in  the  instant  there 
came  a  crash  as  though  the  heavens  had  burst  asunder. 
There  was  a  flashing  flame  of  li\dd  fii-e  and  a  myriad 
sparkling  points  of  light.  The  thought  had  time  to 
shoot  through  his  brain,  "What  has  happened  to  me?" 
— the  thought  and  a  hundred  possibilities  of  answer, 
— before  the  sparks  had  vanished,  and  the  roaring 
in  his  ears  had  hummed  away  into  the  silence  of  un- 
consciousness. 

It  all  passed  in  a  moment;  there  was  no  struggle 
and  no  outcry.  Excepting  for  a  quivering  twitch,  the 
attorney  Burton  was  lying  as  though  dead,  a  dark  and 
indistinguishably  motionless  heap  upon  the  ground,  and 
two  men  were  bending  over  him,  looking  down  at  him. 


CHAPTER  XV 

LIFE   AT   THE   ROOST 

JACK'S  after  recollections  of  this  earlier  part  of  his 
life  in  America  while  he  lived  at  the  Roost  always 
remained  with  him  as  singularly  fragmentary  memo- 
ries of  things  passed.  The  various  events  that  then 
happened  to  him  never,  in  those  recollections,  had  a 
feeling  of  keen  and  vivid  reality  as  a  part  of  his  own 
life.  It  was  almost  as  though  they  might  have  some- 
how happened  outside  of  the  real  things  of  his  life. 
Nearly  every  one  who  has  reached  manhood  and  who 
looks  back  thence  to  the  earlier  periods  of  his  adoles- 
cence, feels  such  strangeness  of  unfamiliarity  in  cer- 
tain fragmentary  parts  of  his  younger  life. 

Maybe  Jack  felt  this  lack  of  reality  in  the  events  of 
that  time  because  that  just  then  he  was  passing  from 
boyhood  into  manhood ;  perhaps  the  memory  of  those 
times  seemed  strange  to  him  and  lacking  of  vitality  be- 
cause of  the  many  changes  of  scene  and  circumstance 
that  then  happened  to  him,  and  because  he  did  not  have 
time  to  become  intimately  acquainted  with  any  especial 
arrangement  of  his  surroundings  before  it  was  changed 
for  some  other  surroundings  of  a  diffei*ent  sort. 

For  Jack's  master  was  very  often  away  from  home, 
and  generally  he  would  take  Jack  with  him,  and  so  it 
was  that  during  this  period  there  were  successive  mem- 
ories of  queer  rambling  Virginia  towns — level  streets 
of  earth  fronted  by  gi'ay  wooden  buildings  with  narrow 

109 


no  JACK   BALLISTEK'S   FOKTUNES 

windows  and  wide  brick  chimneys,  in  the  midst  of 
which  lesser  buildings  there  towered  here  and  there 
maybe  a  more  pretentious  mansion  of  brick,  set  back  in 
a  tangled  garden,  approached  by  a  steep  flight  of  stone 
steps.  The  towns  were  nearly  all  of  this  nature :  — York- 
town,  Jamestown,  Williamsburg  and  the  lesser  court- 
house towns,  more  or  less  inland,  up  the  river ;  and  they 
always  remained  in  Jack's  memory  as  so  many  pictured 
scenes  rather  than  as  various  settings  of  his  actual  life. 

At  other  times  Mr.  Parker  would  maybe  take  Jack 
with  him  on  his  periodical  visits  to  the  plantation 
houses  of  his  friends ;  nearly  all  wide,  rambling,  barn- 
like structures,  where  wild  company  sometimes  gathered, 
and  where,  during  the  time  of  his  master's  visits.  Jack 
would  live  in  the  company  of  the  white  servants  and 
negi'oes  who  lounged  about,  ready  to  run  at  any  mo- 
ment at  the  owner's  call.  Jack  made  many  acquaint- 
ances among  these  people,  but  no  friends. 

This  life  was  so  varied  and  so  entirely  different  from 
anything  that  he  had  known  before  that  he  never  got 
to  feel  as  though  it  were  perfectly  a  part  of  himself. 
Even  the  Eoost,  with  its  bare,  rambling  rooms  and  hall- 
ways, never  entirely  lost  this  feeling  of  unf amiliarity. 

Nearly  always  there  was  more  or  less  company  at  the 
old  house — the  same  sort  of  wild,  roistering  company 
that  gathered  at  the  other  plantation  houses ;  men  who 
came  riding  fine  high-bred  horses,  who  fought  cocks, 
who  gambled,  di'inking  deeply  and  swearing  with  loud 
voices,  and  with  an  accent  that  was  not  at  all  like  the 
English  speech  that  Jack  had  known  at  home. 

One  of  his  earlier  experiences  of  this  new  life  of  his 
in  the  strange  new  world  into  which  he  had  come  was 
of  such  a  company  that  one  day  came  riding  up  to  the 
gray  old  wooden  mansion  with  a  vast  clattering  of 
horses'  hoofs,  a  shouting  of  voices  and  laughter,  and 
a  cloud  of  dust.    The  party  was  accompanied  by  a  fol- 


LIFE   AT   THE   EOOST  111 

lowing  group  of  negro  servants,  one  of  whom  carried 
a  fighting-cock  on  a  saddle  before  him.  Jack  and  Little 
Coffee  and  another  negro  boy  ran  out  to  hold  the  horses, 
and  Dennis  and  two  negroes  came  over  from  the  stable 
to  help.  Mr.  Parker  came  out  and  stood  on  the  upper 
step  in  the  doorway,  looking  on  as  the  visitors  dis- 
mounted. The  scene  was  always  very  \dvid  in  Jack's 
memory. 

The  most  prominent  of  the  visiting  party  was  young 
Mr.  Harry  Oliver.  He  had  been  drinking,  and  his  smooth 
cheeks  were  dyed  a  soft,  deep  red.  He  dismounted  with 
some  difficulty,  and  then  with  uncertain  steps  went 
over  to  his  negro  servant,  who  still  sat  on  his  horse, 
holding  the  cock  before  him  on  the  horn  of  the  saddle. 
"  Give  the  bird  to  me,  Sambo,"  said  the  young  man  in  a 
loud,  unsteady  voice. 

"  He  strike  you,  mea-asta,  you  no  take  care,"  said  the 
negro  warningly. 

"  Better  let  me  take  him,  Mr.  Oliver,"  cried  out 
Dennis. 

The  young  man  paid  no  heed  to  either  warning,  but 
took  the  bird  from  the  negro.  It  struggled,  and  one  of 
the  spurs  caught  in  the  lace  of  Mr.  Oliver's  cuff,  tearing 
a  great  rent  in  it.  Everybody  laughed  but  Mr.  Parker, 
who  stood  looking  calmly  on  at  the  scene.  "Ouch! 
Look  what  he  's  done  to  me,"  cried  out  Mr.  Oliver. 
"  Here,  Dennis,  you  take  him."  And  again  the  others 
laughed  loudly  at  the  young  man's  mishap. 

Dennis  took  the  bird,  seizing  its  narrow  cruel  head 
deftly,  and  holding  it  so  that  it  might  not  strike  him. 

"  Hath  Mr.  Castleman  been  here  yet  1 "  asked  one  of 
the  visitors  of  Dennis. 

"  No,  your  honor,"  said  Dennis. 

"  Aha ! "  shouted  Harry  Oliver,  "  what  do  you  think 
of  that,  Tom  ?  I  tell  you  he  '11  not  come.  His  black 
cock  's  no  match  for  Red  Harry.     I  '11  bet  you  five 


112  JACK  BALLISTEE'S   FORTUNES 

pounds  he  does  n't  come  at  all.  I  knew  he  was  only 
talking  for  talk's  sake  last  night  when  he  said  that  he 
would  match  his  bird  against  Harry." 

The  others,  ready  to  be  amused  at  anything  the  tipsy 
young  fellow  said,  again  laughed  loudly. 

"  If  you  want  to  bet  your  money,  I  '11  cover  your  five 
pounds  that  the  gentleman  is  here  in  the  hour,"  said 
one  of  the  party,  who  was  a  stranger  to  Jack. 

"Let  him  alone,  Phillips,"  said  Mr.  Parker,  coming 
down  the  steps.  "  The  boy  is  not  cool  enough  to  bet 
his  money  now.     Won't  you  come  in,  gentlemen?" 

"  Yes,  I  am  cool  enough,  too,"  cried  out  Oliver.  "  I  '11 
bet  my  money  as  I  choose ;  and  you  shall  mind  your 
own  business,  Parker,  and  I  '11  mind  mine." 

Then  they  all  went  into  the  house  and  to  the  dining- 
room,  where  the  rum  and  the  sugar  stood  always  ready 
on  the  sideboard. 

Jack,  as  was  said,  was  still  new  to  all  this  life.  "  What 
are  they  going  to  do  ? "  he  asked  of  Dennis  as  he  led 
the  horse  he  held  over  toward  the  stable. 

"  Do  ? "  said  Dennis;  "  what  d'  ye  think  they  'd  do  but 
fight  a  cock  main  ? " 

About  an  hour  after  the  arrival  of  the  first  party  of 
guests,  Mr.  Castleman  and  fom*  of  his  friends  came  in 
a  body.  Mr.  Castleman's  negro  also  brought  a  cock, 
and  almost  immediately  the  birds  were  pitted  against 
one  another  in  the  bare  and  carpetless  hall-way. 

Jack  did  not  see  the  beginning  of  the  fight.  He  was 
up-stairs  helping  Mrs.  Pitcher  make  up  some  beds  for 
the  night.  When  he  heard  that  they  were  fighting  the 
cocks  down  in  the  hall,  he  hurried  down-stairs,  boy- 
like, to  see  what  was  going  on.  A  burst  of  loud  voices 
greeted  his  ears  as  he  descended  the  stairway.  A  num- 
ber of  the  negroes  and  some  white  servants  were  clus- 
tered on  the  steps,  looking  over  the  banister  and  down 
below.    There  was  another  loud  burst  of  voices  domi- 


LIFE   AT   THE   BOOST  113 

nated  by  Mr.  Oliver's  shrill  boyish  tones  crying  out, 
"  Why,  then  !  Why,  then  !  That 's  my  hero  !  Give  it  to 
him  again !  Why,  then  !  'T  is  Red  Harry  against  them 
all !     Where  's  your  fifty  pounds  now,  Castleman?" 

Jack  at  the  head  of  the  stairs  could  look  down  upon 
the  tragedy  being  enacted  on  the  floor  below.  He  stood 
for  a  second — two  seconds — gazing  fascinated.  The 
black  cock  —  a  dreadful  bloody,  blinded  thing — was 
swaying  and  toppling  to  death.  The  red  cock  towered 
above  him,  cruel,  remorseless,  striking,  and  striking 
again ;  then  poising,  then  striking  its  helpless  dying 
enemy  again.  Harry  Oliver  was  squatted  behind  his 
bird,  hoarse  with  exultation.  The  end  was  very  near. 
Mr.  Parker  sat  calm  and  serene,  looking  down  at  the 
fight.  The  others  stood  or  squatted  around  in  a  circle, 
tense  and  breathless  with  excitement.  All  this  Jack 
saw  in  the  few  dreadful  seconds  that  he  stood  there, 
and  the  scene  was  forever  fixed  upon  his  memory.  He 
awoke  to  find  that  his  mouth  was  clammy  with  a  dread- 
ful excitement.  Peggy  Pitcher  had  followed  him  out 
on  the  landing.  Suddenly  she  burst  out  laughing. 
"  Look  at  Jack ! "  she  cried.     "  'T  hath  made  him  sick." 

Jack  saw  many  cock-fights  after  that  one,  but  the 
circumstances  of  this  time  always  remained  the  most 
keenly  stamped  upon  his  memory  as  one  of  the  most 
vivid  of  those  unreal  realities  of  that  transition  period. 

Another  memory  of  an  altogether  different  sort  was 
of  one  time  when  Mr.  Parker  was  away  from  home,  and 
when  he  himself  went  with  Dennis,  and  Little  Coffee, 
and  two  other  negroes,  down  the  river  to  the  Roads, 
fishing.  Mrs.  Pitcher  had  advised  him  not  to  go.  "  His 
honor  may  come  back,"  said  she ;  "  and  if  he  does  and 
finds  you  away  he  '11  be  as  like  as  not  to  give  you  a 
flaying  with  his  riding-whip." 

"  A  fig  for  his  honor ! "  said  Jack.  "  I  'm  not  afraid 
of  his  honor.    And  as  for  being  away  when  he  comes 


114  JACK   BALLISTEE'S   FOETUNES 

back,  why,  that  I  shall  not.  He  '11  be  sure  not  to  be 
back  from  Annapolis  for  a  week  to  come." 

The  memory  that  followed  was  of  a  long  sail  in  the 
open  boat  of  some  forty  miles  or  so  in  the  hot  sun  and 
the  swift,  brisk  mnd;  a  memory  of  sitting  perched  on 
the  up-tilted  weather-rail  listening  to  Dennis  and  the 
negroes  chattering  together  in  the  strange  jabbering 
English  that  was  becoming  so  familiar  to  him  now. 

It  was  pretty  late  in  the  afternoon  when  they  ap- 
proached the  fishing-ground.  Dennis  leaned  over  the 
rail  every  now  and  then,  and  peered  down  into  the 
water,  as  the  hoy  drifted  along  close-hauled  to  the  wind. 
One  of  the  negroes  stood  ready  to  drop  the  sail,  and  the 
other  stood  in  the  bow  to  throw  over  the  stone  that 
served  as  an  anchor  when  Dennis  should  give  the  order. 
"Let  go!"  shouted  Dennis  suddenly,  and  the  sail  fell 
with  a  rattle  of  the  block  and  tackle,  and  in  a  heap  of 
canvas.  At  the  same  time  the  negi'O  in  the  bow  threw 
the  stone  overboard  with  a  gi*eat  loud  splash. 

Jack  and  Little  Coffee  were  the  first  to  drop  their  lines 
into  the  water.  Jack  sat  watching  the  negro  boy;  he 
hoped  with  all  his  might  that  he  might  catch  the  first 
fish,  but  it  did  not  seem  possible  that  he  could  catch  a 
fish  in  that  little  open  spot  of  the  wide,  wide  stretch  of 
water.  Then  all  of  a  sudden  there  came  a  sharp,  quiv- 
ering pull  at  the  hook,  and  he  instantly  began  hauling 
in  the  wet  and  dripping  line  wildly,  hand  over  hand. 
He  thought  for  a  moment  that  he  had  lost  the  fish ; 
then  there  came  a  renewed  tugging  at  his  line,  and  in 
another  second  he  had  jerked  the  shining  thing  into 
the  boat,  where  it  lay  flashing  and  splashing  and  flapp- 
ing upon  the  boards  of  the  bottom.  "  I  caught  the  first 
fish,  Little  Coffee ! "  he  shouted. 

"  Look  dar,  now,"  said  Little  Coffee,  testily.  "  Fish 
just  bite  my  hook,  and  you  talk  and  scare  'um  away." 

Jack  jeered  derisively,  and  Dennis  burst  out  laugh- 


LIFE   AT   THE   KOOST  115 

ing,  while  Little  Coffee  glowered  at  Jack  in  glum 
suUeuness. 

They  fished  all  that  afternoon,  and  it  was  toward 
evening  when  they  hoisted  up  the  anchor  stone.  Two 
of  the  negroes  poled  the  hoy  to  the  shore.  Jack  was 
the  first  to  jump  from  the  bow  of  the  boat  to  the 
white,  sandy  beach,  littered  with  a  tangle  of  water- 
grasses  and  driftwood,  washed  up  by  the  waves.  A 
steep  bluff  bank  of  sand  overlooked  the  water,  and 
Jack  ran  scrambling  up  the  sliding,  sandy  steep,  and 
stood  looking  around  him.  For  some  little  distance 
the  ground  was  open,  and  there  was  a  low  wooden 
shed,  maybe  fifty  or  sixty  paces  away ;  beyond  it 
stood  the  outskirts  of  the  virgin  forest.  He  stood 
and  gazed  about  him,  realizing  very  keenly  that  this 
was  the  new  world,  and  sensing  a  singular  thrilling 
delight  at  the  wildness  and  strangeness  of  everything. 

This,  too,  was  a  very  vivid  memory  fragment  of 
that  strange  and  distantly  impersonal  period  of  his 
life. 


J 


CHAPTER  XVI 

jack's  mastek  in  the  toils 

ACK  had  been  living  nearly  a  month  at  the  Eoost 
before  he  saw  anything  of  those  money  troubles 
that  so  beset  and  harassed  his  master.  He  was  after- 
ward to  learn  how  fierce  and  truculent  Mr.  Parker 
could  become  at  those  times  when  he  was  more  than 
usually  tormented  by  his  creditors. 

It  was  about  noon,  and  Jack  was  busy  getting  ready 
the  clothes  that  his  master  was  to  wear  for  the  morn- 
ing. There  had  been  company  at  the  Roost  the  night 
before,  and  Mr.  Parker,  who  had  sat  up  till  past  mid- 
night, and  who  had  only  just  risen,  sat  at  the  open 
window  in  his  nightcap  and  dressing-gown,  with  his 
half-eaten  breakfast  beside  him,  smoking  a  long  pipe 
of  tobacco  out  into  the  warm,  soft  air. 

Suddenly  there  came  the  sound  of  horses'  hoofs  ap- 
proaching from  the  distance,  and  then  the  opening  of 
the  gate.  Mr.  Parker  craned  his  neck  and  peeped  out  of 
the  window  cautiously.  Immediately  he  laid  down  his 
pipe  of  tobacco,  and  tm-ning  to  Jack,— "  Harkee,"  said 
he,  in  a  voice  instinctively  lowered,  "yonder  is  a  man 
coming  whom  I  don't  choose  to  see,  so  you  just  go 
down  and  tell  him  I  'm  not  at  home,  and  that  I  won't 
be  back  till  next  Thursday;  d'  ye  understand!"  Jack 
nodded  his  head.  "  Well,  then,  do  as  I  tell  you,  and 
don't  you  let  him  guess  I  'm  at  home." 

Even  as  the  master  spoke  there  came  a  loud  knock- 


jack's  master  in  the  toils  117 

ing  at  the  door.  Jack  ran  clown-stairs  and  through 
the  hall,  and  opened  it  before  any  of  the  slower  ne- 
groes could  reach  it.  There  were  two  men  outside,  one 
of  them  held  a  pair  of  horses,  and  the  other  had  just 
knocked.  The  man  with  the  horses  had  the  look  of  a 
servant.  The  other  was  a  lean,  wizened  fellow  with 
smoothly  brushed  hair  tied  behind  with  a  bit  of  string, 
a  flapped  hat,  and  a  long-skirted  gray  coat — he  looked 
like  an  attorney  or  a  money-lender.  "  Well,  master," 
said  Jack,  "  and  what  '11  you  have  ?  " 

"  I  want  to  see  your  master,"  said  the  man  shortly. 

"Wlio?"  said  Jack. 

"  Your  master." 

"  My  master  ?  " 

"  Yes ;  what  's  the  matter  with  the  oaf !  Where  's 
your  master  ?  Why  don't  ye  answer  me  and  tell  me 
whether  Mr.  Parker  is  at  home." 

"  Oh,  Mr.  Parker !  So  't  is  him  you  wish  to  see,  to 
be  sure." 

But,  after  all,  Jack  did  not  have  to  tell  the  lie  Mr. 
Parker  had  bidden  him  to  tell.  A  voice  suddenly 
sounded  from  overhead — a  keen,  shrill  voice.  "  What 
d'  ye  want.  Master  Binderly  ?    Who  d'  ye  come  to  see  ? " 

The  man  at  the  door  stepped  back  a  pace  or  two  and 
looked  up,  and  Jack  craned  forward  and  looked  up  also. 
Mrs.  Pitcher  was  leaning  out  of  the  window  just  above 
their  heads.  She  wore  a  morning  wrapper,  and  a  cap 
very  much  the  worse  for  wear,  which  gave  her  a  singu- 
larly frowsy,  tousled  appearance. 

"  Why,  you  know  what  I  want,  Mistress  Pitcher,  just 
as  well  as  I  do,"  said  the  man.  "I  want  to  see  Mr. 
Richard  Parker,  and  by  zounds !  I  will  see  him,  too ! 
Here  have  I  been  running  after  him  and  looking  for 
him  up  and  down  the  Province  these  two  weeks  past. 
Here  are  obligations  of  his  which  have  come  into  my 
hands  for  over  a  thousand  pounds,  and  he  won't  pay 


118  JACK  BALLISTER'S   FORTUNES 

any  attention  to  me,  and  lie  won't  renew  his  notes,  and 
he  won't  do  anything." 

Jack  stood  in  the  doorway  listening  with  very  great 
interest,  and  two  or  three  grinning  negroes  had  gath- 
ered at  the  end  of  the  house,  looking  on  with  a  vague 
and  childish  curiosity.  "Well,  Master  Money-Shark," 
said  the  woman,  "I  don't  know  what  you  are  talking 
about ;  all  I  know  is  that  you  won't  find  Mr.  Richard 
Parker  here,  and  so  you  may  as  well  go  about  your 
business." 

"  Why,  what  are  you  talking  about  ? "  bawled  the 
money-lender.  "If  this  is  not  my  business,  what  is 
my  business?"  and  Jack  could  not  help  laughing  at 
his  loud  voice. 

"Well,  that  I  don't  know  anything  about,  or  don't 
care  anything  about,"  Mrs.  Pitcher  answered  shrilly. 
"All  I  know  is  this  here — Mr.  Parker  ain't  about,  and 
won't  be  about  till  next  Thursday." 

"  I  don't  believe  what  you  tell  me,"  answered  the  man 
roughly;  "anyhow,  I  '11  come  in  and  wait — and  I  '11 
wait  till  next  Thursday,  if  I  have  to.  Either  I  'm  go- 
ing to  have  my  money,  or  I  'm  going  to  have  satisfac- 
tion for  it." 

"  No,  you  won't  come  into  the  house,  neither,"  cried 
Mrs.  Pitcher ;  and  then,  as  the  money-lender  made  as 
though  to  enter,  she  called,  "  Shut  the  door,  there. 
Jack !"  and  Jack  at  her  bidding  banged  the  door  in  the 
man's  face,  shooting  the  bolt  and  locking  it. 

The  man  kicked  and  pounded  upon  the  door,  and 
Jack  could  hear  the  housekeeper  pouring  vituperation 
down  upon  him  from  above.  He  himself,  now  having 
nothing  more  to  do,  went  up  stairs  and  leaned  out  of 
another  window  to  see  what  the  outcome  of  it  all 
would  be. 

The  housekeeper  was  just  saying :  "  If  you  don't  go 
away  from  there,  now,  I  '11  pour  a  kittle  of  hot  water 


jack's  master  in  the  toils  119 

on  ye."  Whereupon  Mr.  Binderly  seemed  to  think  it 
best  to  quit  his  knocking.  He  went  out  into  the  road- 
way in  front,  and  stood  there  for  a  while  talking  in  low 
tones  to  his  servant. 

"  Very  well,  then,  Mistress  Pitcher,"  said  he  at  last. 
"  You  've  got  the  power  on  me  here ;  but  you  tell  your 
master  this  for  me,  that  he  may  hide  himself  from  me 
as  he  pleases,  but  for  all  that  there  is  law  to  be  had  in 
the  Province  of  Virginia.  And  that  ain't  all,  neither, 
Mrs.  Pitcher ;  you  tell  your  master  that  I  ain't  going  to 
law  till  I  try  other  things  first.  I  'm  going  to  his 
brother,  Colonel  Birchall  Parker,  first,  and  see  what 
he  '11  have  to  say  to  this  here.  He 's  the  richest  man  in 
Virginia,  and  he  ain't  got  the  right  to  let  his  brother 
ruin  a  poor  man  like  me." 

Peggy  Pitcher  made  no  answer  to  the  money-lender, 
but  snapped  her  fingers  at  him.  Then  she  leaned  on 
the  window-sill  watching  him  as  he  clambered  on  his 
horse  and  rode  away  again  as  he  had  come,  with  his 
serving-man  at  his  heels. 

There  were  several  other  occasions  when  creditors 
came  pressing  Mr.  Parker  for  money,  but  never  any 
that  had  such  a  smack  of  comedy  about  it. 

It  was  somewhat  more  than  a  month  later  when  an- 
other sort  of  visitor  than  poor  Mr.  Binderly  appeared  at 
the  Roost.  Again  the  master  was  at  home,  and  alone, 
but  upon  this  occasion  it  was  after  nightfall  when  the 
visitor  arrived.  Jack  was  reading  aloud  the  jokes  from 
an  old  almanac  to  Mrs.  Pitcher,  who  sat  idly  listening 
to  him.  Mr.  Parker  was  in  the  room  beyond,  and  every 
now  and  then  in  the  intervals  of  his  muttered  reading, 
Jack  would  turn  and  glance  toward  the  half -opened 
door.  The  master  was  very  quiet,  and  very  intent 
upon  what  he  was  doing.  He  sat  by  the  light  of  a  can- 
dle, smoking  a  pipe  of  tobacco,  and  shuffling  and  deal- 
ing to  himself  and  an  imaginary  opponent  a  hand  of 


120  JACK   BALLISTEE'S   FOKTUNES 

cards  wMch  he  turned  face  up  upon  the  table.  Then, 
leaning  with  his  elbows  upon  the  board,  he  would 
study  and  calculate  the  combinations  of  the  two  hands 
until  he  was  satisfied,  and  then  again  would  shuffle  and 
deal  the  cards.  A  bottle  and  a  glass  of  rum  and  water 
stood  at  his  elbow,  and  every  now  and  then  he  would 
take  a  sip  of  it. 

Then  a  loud,  sudden  knock  upon  the  door  startled  the 
stillness  of  the  house.  Jack  pushed  back  his  chair,  grat- 
ing noisily  upon  the  bare  floor,  and  hurried  to  open  to 
the  visitor.  It  was  a  tall,  brown-faced  man  with  a  great, 
heavy,  black  beard  hanging  down  over  his  breast.  His 
figure  stood  out  dimly  in  the  light  of  the  candle  from 
the  darkness  of  the  star-lit  night  behind.  The  brass 
buttons  of  his  coat  shone  bright  in  the  dull  yellow 
light.  "  Is  Mr,  Richard  Parker  at  home,  boy?"  he  asked 
in  a  hoarse,  husky  voice. 

"I — I  believe  he  is,  sir,"  said  Jack,  hesitatingly. 

"  Hath  he  any  visitors  I " 

"  Why,  no,"  said  Jack.     "  I  believe  not  to-night." 

Then  the  stranger  pushed  by  into  the  house. 
"  I  want  to  see  him,"  said  he,  roughly ;  "  where  is  he  f 

Mrs.  Pitcher  had  arisen  and  had  managed  to  quietly 
close  the  door  of  the  room  in  which  Mr.  Parker  sat. 
"And  what  might  be  your  business  with  his  honor, 
master  ?  "  she  said. 

"Well,  mistress,"  said  the  man,  "that  's  my  affair 
and  not  yours.     Where  is  Mr.  Parker  ? " 

At  that  moment  the  door  that  Mrs.  Pitcher  had  closed 
was  opened  again  and  Mr.  Parker  appeared.  He  wore 
a  silk  nightcap  upon  his  head,  and  carried  his  pipe  in 
his  hand.  "  'T  is  j^ou,  is  it,  captain  ? "  said  he.  "  Well, 
I  had  n't  looked  to  see  you  so  far  up  the  river  as  this ; 
but  come  in  here." 

He  held  the  door  open  as  the  other  entered,  and  then 
closed  it  again.     "  Sit  down,"  said  Mr.  Parker,  pointing 


jack's  mastee  in  the  toils  121 

towai'd  the  table  with  the  stem  of  his  pipe.  "  Sit  down, 
and  help  yourself." 

As  the  stranger  obeyed  the  invitation,  Mr.  Parker 
stood  with  his  back  to  the  great  empty  fireplace,  look- 
ing with  his  usual  cold  reserve,  though  perhaps  a  little 
curiously,  at  his  visitor.  The  other  tossed  off  the  glass 
of  rum  and  water  he  had  mixed  for  himself,  and  then 
wiped  his  mouth  with  the  palm  of  his  hand.  Then, 
thrusting  his  hand  into  an  inside  pocket  of  his  coat 
he  brought  out  a  big,  greasy  leather  pocket-book,  un- 
tied the  thongs,  opened  it,  and  took  from  it  a  paper. 
"  Here  's  that  note  of  hand  of  yours,  Mr.  Parker,"  said 
he,  "  that  you  gave  me  down  at  Parrott's.  'T  is  due 
now  some  twenty  days  and  more,  and  yet  I  have  re- 
ceived nothing  upon  it.  When  may  I  look  for  you 
to  settle  it  ?  " 

"  Let  me  see  it,"  said  Mr.  Parker  calmly,  reaching 
out  his  hand  for  it. 

The  other  looked  at  him  quizzically  for  a  moment, 
and  then  without  a  word  replaced  the  paper  in  his 
pocket-book,  retied  the  thongs,  and  thrust  the  wallet 
back  into  his  pocket  again.  "  Why,"  said  he,  "  me- 
thinks  I  'd  rather  not  let  it  go  out  of  my  own  hands 
and  into  yours,  if  it  's  all  the  same  to  you." 

Mr.  Parker's  expression  did  not  change  a  shade,  but 
he  shrugged  his  shoulders  ever  so  slightly.  "  Why,  Mr. 
Captain  Pirate,"  said  he,  dryly,  "  methinks  then  you  're 
mightily  careful  of  small  things  and  not  so  careful  of 
great  things.  If  I  were  of  a  mind  to  do  you  some  ill 
turn,  what  do  you  think  is  to  prevent  me  from  opening 
this  window  and  calling  my  men  to  knock  you  on  the 
head,  tie  you  up  hand  and  foot,  and  turn  you  over  to  the 
authorities?  Governor  Spotteswood  and  my  brother 
would  be  only  too  glad  to  lay  hands  on  you,  now  you  've 
gone  back  to  your  piracies  and  broken  your  pardon 
and  fallen  under  the  law  again,  as  I  hear  you  have 


122  JACK   BALLISTER'S   FOETUNES 

done.  What 's  to  prevent  me  from  handing  you  over 
to  my  brother,  who  would  rather  than  ten  thousand 
pounds  have  the  chance  of  hanging  you  ?  " 

The  other  grinned.  "  Why,"  said  he,  "  I  've  taken 
my  chances  of  that.  I  dare  say  you  could  do  me  an  ill 
enough  turn  if  you  chose — but  you  won't  choose." 

"  Why,  Mr.  Pirate  ? "  said  Mr.  Parker,  looking  down 
at  his  visitor  coldly. 

"  Because,  Mr.  Tobacco-planter,  I  've  made  my  calcu- 
lations before  I  came  here !  I  know  very  well  how  you 
depend  upon  your  honorable  brother  for  your  living, 
and  that  he  'd  cut  you  off  to  a  farthing  if  he  knew  that 
you'd  been  so  free  and  easy  with  me  as  to  sit  down 
quietly  at  table  with  me  and  lose  four  or  five  hundred 
pounds  at  play.  You  can  afford  to  give  your  note  to 
anyone  but  me,  Mr.  Grambler-Parker,  but  you  can't 
afford  to  give  it  to  me  and  then  lord  it  over  me  !  Come  ! 
come !  Don't  try  any  of  your  airs  with  me," — this  with 
a  sudden  truculence — "but  tell  me,  when  will  you  settle 
with  me  in  whole  or  part  ? " 

Mr.  Parker  stood  for  a  while  looking  steadily  at  his 
visitor,  who  showed  by  every  motion  and  shade  of  ex- 
pression that  he  did  not  stand  in  the  least  awe  or  fear 
of  the  other.  "  I  don't  know,"  said  Mr.  Parker  at  last. 
"  Suppose  I  never  pay  you,  what  then  ?  " 

"  Why,  in  that  case  I  '11  just  send  the  paper  to  your 
brother  for  collection." 

Another  long  space  of  silence  followed.  "Lookee, 
sirrah,"  said  Mr.  Parker  at  last,  "  I  '11  be  plain  with  you. 
I  can't  settle  that  note  just  now.  I  have  fifty  times 
more  out  against  me  than  I  can  arrange  for.  But  if 
you'll  come — let  me  see — three  days  hence,  I'll  see 
what  I  can  do." 

The  other  looked  suspiciously  and  cunningly  at  him 
for  a  moment  or  two.  "  Come !  come !  Mr.  Tobacco- 
planter,"  said  he,  "you  're  not  up  to  any  tricks,  are 
you  ?  " 


w 

>^ 

o 

o 

o 

o 


> 

a 
t-i 


o 


jack's  master  in  the  toils  123 

"  No ;  upon  my  honor." 

The  other  burst  out  laughing.  "Upon  my  honor," 
he  mimicked.  "  Well,  then,  I  '11  be  here  three  days 
from  now." 

Jack  and  Mrs.  Pitcher,  as  they  sat  in  the  next  room, 
heard  nothing  but  the  grumbling  mutter  of  the  two 
voices  and  now  and  then  the  sound  of  the  stranger's 
laugh.  "  What  d'  ye  suppose  he 's  come  for,  Mrs. 
Pitcher?"  asked  Jack. 

"  Like  enough  for  money,"  said  Mrs.  Pitcher,  briefly. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

JACK   EIDES   ON   A   MISSION 

IT  was  the  next  raorniug  after  this  visit  that  Jack, 
coming  at  Mr.  Parker's  call,  found  his  master  lying 
propped  up  in  bed,  clad  in  his  nightcap  and  dressing- 
gown.  As  Jack  entered  he  thrust  his  hand  under  the 
pillow  and  brought  out  a  letter.  "Harkee,"  said  he, 
"  d'  ye  see  this  letter  ? " 

"  Yes,  your  honor." 

"  Very  well,  then,  now  listen  to  me.  This  is  to  go  to 
my  brother,  Colonel  Parker,  and  I  choose  that  you  shall 
take  it.  Gro  out  to  the  stables  and  tell  Dennis  that  I 
say  he  is  to  give  you  a  good  fresh  horse.  Ride  to  Marl- 
borough and  back  as  soon  as  you  can.  You  can  make 
the  South  Plantation  to-night  if  you  post  along  briskly, 
and  they  will  give  you  a  change  of  horses.  I  want  you 
to  be  back  by  Friday  night,  so  lose  no  time,  and  see 
that  Colonel  Parker  gets  this  letter  from  your  own 
hand,  d'  ye  understand  f " 

"Yes,  sir,"  said  Jack.  "Shall  I  fetch  you  your  break- 
fast first?" 

"  No,  Peggy  will  attend  to  that." 

Jack  hurried  off  to  the  stables,  stopping  only  long 
enough  on  his  way  to  tell  Little  Coffee  where  he  was 
going.  Then  the  black  boy  and  the  white  boy  went 
down  together  to  find  Dennis.  Little  Coffee  was  dis- 
tinctly displeased.  "  What  for  he  send  you,  anyhow  ? " 
said  he.  "  You  no  find  um  way — you  get  lost  in  woods, 
boy.     I  find  um  way  if  he  send  me." 

124 


JACK   RIDES   ON   A   MISSION  125 

Jack  burst  out  laughing.  "  Why,  to  be  sure,"  said 
he,  "  that  would  be  a  pretty  thing  to  do !  How  could 
Mr.  Parker  send  you  to  Marlborough,  Coffee?  Why, 
you  're  nothing  but  a  black  boy.  You  could  n't  do 
what  he  wants  to  have  done." 

"  You  call  me  black  boy  all  um  time,"  burst  out  Little 
Coffee.  "I  no  like  you  call  me  black  boy.  Black  boy 
good  as  white  boy,  anyhow." 

"No,  he  ain't,  neither,"  said  Jack;  and  just  then 
Dennis  came  out  of  the  stable,  and  Jack  told  him  the 
master's  bidding. 

As  Jack,  mounted  upon  one  of  the  best  horses  in  the 
stable,  trotted  down  past  the  house  with  Little  Coffee 
running  along  beside  him,  Peggy  Pitcher  stopped  him 
to  give  him  some  food  wrapped  up  in  a  paper,  and  Jack 
tucked  it  into  the  saddle-bag.  "You  lose  um  way," 
shouted  Little  Coffee  after  him  as  he  cantered  away, 
but  he  did  not  deign  any  reply  but  galloped  on  down 
the  dusty  road  toward  the  woodland,  into  which  the 
ragged  roadway  plunged,  presently  to  be  lost  in  a  jungle 
of  trees  and  bushes  and  undergrowth. 

In  the  woods  all  was  still  and  warm  and  fragrant 
with  the  spicy  odors.  A  squirrel  ran  across  the  way; 
further  on  a  rabbit  scurried  out  of  the  bushes  and  along 
the  road.  At  one  place  a  great  wild  turkey  ran  down 
across  the  open  path.  Jack  shouted  at  it  as  it  plunged 
into  the  thickets  again,  and  he  could  hear  it  rustling 
thunderously  through  the  bushes  for  a  long  while  as 
he  sat  peering  in  through  the  dense  screen  of  leaves 
whither  it  had  gone.  At  another  place  he  came  upon 
a  black  snake  that  lay  motionless  in  a  sunny  patch  in 
the  road,  watching  him  with  its  bright,  diamond-like 
eyes,  and  shooting  out  its  quivering  tongue.  The  horse 
shied  and  refused  to  pass  the  snake,  and  Jack,  follow- 
ing the  instinct  of  all  men,  got  off  his  saddle  and  killed 
it.    Once  he  forded  a  great,  wide,  shallow  creek,  the 


126  JACK   BALLISTER'S   FOETUNES 

liorse  splashing  and  thundering  through  the  water, 
and  the  fish  darting  swiftly  away  from  either  side. 
He  had  some  trouble  in  finding  the  road  on  the  fur- 
ther shore,  but  by  and  by  he  regained  it  and  drove  the 
horse  scrambling  up  the  steep,  bluff  bank.  At  this  time 
the  noon  sun  was  shining  straight  down  through  the 
leaves  overhead,  and  Jack  dismounted,  tied  his  dripping 
horse  to  a  sapling,  and  took  out  his  lunch.  He  sat  in 
a  little  open,  grassy  spot,  with  the  waters  of  the  ford 
spread  out  before  him.  The  solitude  of  the  woods  was 
full  of  a  ceaseless  stir  and  rustle  and  the  resonant  sing- 
ing of  wood  birds ;  it  seemed  to  Jack  as  though  there 
was  nobody  in  the  whole  world  but  himself.  The  horse 
plucked  at  the  leaves  every  now  and  then  with  a  loud 
rustle  of  the  branch,  and  then  chewed  them,  champing 
upon  the  bit. 

It  was  nearly  sundown  before  Jack  came  to  the  end  of 
the  first  stage  of  his  journey.  Then  suddenly,  almost 
before  he  knew  it,  he  was  out  from  the  woods  into  an 
open  clearing  where  there  was  a  growing  field  of  maize, 
the  harsh,  crisp  leaves  glinting  and  rattling  dryly  in  the 
wind.  Beyond  the  field  of  Indian  corn  was  a  great  and 
wide  stretch  of  tobacco-fields,  bordered,  in  the  distance, 
by  woodlands,  nearly  a  mile  away.  In  the  mid-distance 
he  could  see  a  low  log  house  surrounded  by  what  ap- 
peared to  be  huts  and  cabins  of  various  sizes  and  sorts. 

Jack  dug  his  heels  into  the  horse's  side  and  galloped 
down  the  straight,  dusty  road  that  stretched  away 
between  the  unfenced  fields  toward  the  houses,  the 
horse  pricking  up  his  ears  and  whinnying. 

At  last  he  drew  rein  in  front  of  the  largest  of  the 
log  houses.  A  number  of  half-naked  negro  children 
ran  out  as  he  approached,  and,  as  he  reined  up  his 
panting  and  sweating  horse,  a  barefoot  negro  woman 
with  a  string  of  beads  around  her  neck,  and  another 
around  each  of  her  wrists  and  each  of  her  ankles,  came 
to  the  door  and  stood  looking  at  him.     Her  tall,  con- 


JACK   KIDES   ON   A   MISSION  127 

ical  turban  blazed  like  a  flame  in  the  light  of  the  set- 
ting sun  and  against  the  dark  interior  of  the  cabin. 
"Is  this  the  South  Plantation!"  asked  Jack. 

"  Um  !  Um ! "  assented  the  woman,  nodding  her  head. 

"  Where  's  the  master  ?  "  asked  Jack.  "  Where  's  the 
overseer  ? " 

The  woman  stared  at  him,  making  no  attempt  to 
answer  his  question.  "  Where 's  your  master ! "  said 
Jack  again ;  and  then,  the  woman  still  not  replying,  he 
said :    "  What 's  the  matter,  don't  you  speak  English  ? " 

"  Iss,"  said  the  woman  with  a  grin ;  "  me  Ingiss." 

"Well,  then,"  said  Jack,  " where 's  your  master, 
where  is  he,  eh  ? "  and  he  waved  his  hand  off  toward 
the  plantation  field  in  a  general  way.  Perhaps  the 
negro  woman  understood  the  action  better  than  the 
words.  "He  dar,"  she  said,  j)oiuting  with  her  fingers. 
"  He  beat  white  man." 

"  What  ? "  said  Jack. 

"He  beat  white  man — he  dar,"  and  she  pointed 
again.  Jack  did  not  understand  what  she  meant, 
but  he  knew  that  the  overseer  was  in  the  direction 
indicated,  so  he  rode  off  toward  the  long  row  of 
huts  that  stretched  away  beyond,  some  built  of  boards 
and  bark,  and  some  of  wattled  sticks  smeared  with 
clay.  Turning  the  end  of  the  last  hut  he  came  sud- 
denly upon  an  open  space  fronted  by  the  outbuild- 
ings. A  little  crowd  of  men — black  and  white — stood 
gathered  in  this  open.  A  man,  evidently  the  overseer, 
was  mounted  upon  a  barrel  and  was  addressing  the 
group  clustered  before  him.  He  carried  one  arm  in  a 
sling,  and  the  sling  was  stained  "\vith  fresh  blood.  Two 
assistant  helpers,  or  overseers,  stood  behind  the  speaker. 

The  crowd  of  slaves  in  front  of  the  overseer — black 
and  white — barefoot,  half -clad,  wretched,  low-browed, 
made  a  motley  group.  The  overseer  was  evidently  just 
finishing  his  harangue  to  them  when  Jack  came  up 
around  the  corner  of  the   cabin.     He   stopped  for  a 


128  JACK   BALLISTEE'S   FOKTUNES 

moment  in  his  speech  and  turned  his  head  as  Jack  ap- 
peared upon  the  scene,  and  the  hsteniug  crowd  turned 
their  eyes  toward  him  from  the  speaker  as  with  one 
movement.  Jack  recognized  the  overseer  as  the  man 
who  had  come  down  with  him  and  his  master  in  the 
flatboat  from  the  Hall.  Then  the  overseer  went  on 
with  his  speech,  concluding,  perhaps,  rather  more  ab- 
ruptly than  he  otherwise  would  have  done.  "And 
don't  you  forget  this  here  what  I  've  been  telling  to 
you,"  said  he;  "I  be  one  of  the  best  drivers  in  the 
province  of  Virginia  if  ye  did  but  know  it — and  what 
be  ye,  I  should  like  to  know  ?  Why,  the  very  dirt  of 
the  earth  under  my  feet.  How  many  drivers  d'  ye  sup- 
pose there  be  in  this  here  Colony,  but  what  would  have 
killed  that  there  Will  Dickson  if  they  'd  been  in  my 
place,  and  been  struck  with  a  hoe  in  the  arm  and  cut  to 
the  bone  ?  But  I  tell  you,  I  've  got  my  eye  on  ye  all, 
and  the  first  man  that  lifts  his  hand  ag'in'  me  again  had 
better  never  been  born.  And  now  you  go  about  your 
business,  all  of  ye,  and  remember  what  you  've  seen." 
Then  he  stepped  down  from  the  barrel  and  came  across 
to  Jack.     "  Well,  master,"  said  he,  "  and  who  be  ye  1 " 

"  I  'm  Master  Richard  Parker's  ser^dng-man,"  said 
Jack.  "  Don't  you  remember  me  ?  I  came  down  with 
you  in  the  flatboat  from  the  Hall." 

"  Ay,  to  be  sure,"  said  the  other.  "  Now  I  remember 
you  very  well.     But  what  brings  you  here  ?  " 

"Why,"  said  Jack,  "I  take  a  letter  up  to  Colonel 
Parker,  and  his  honor — that  is  Mr.  Richard  Parker — 
told  me  I  was  to  stay  here  all  night  and  then  be  on 
again  to-morrow." 

"  Did  he  ? "  said  the  overseer.  "  Then  we  '11  go  on  to 
the  house  and  tell  Chloe  to  fit  ye  up  a  room.  How 
long  ha'  ye  been  over  from  the  old  country  I "  he  asked 
as  they  walked  off  together. 

"I  was  just  brought  here  when  you  saw  me  in  the 
boat,"  Jack  answered. 


JACK   EIDES   ON   A   MISSION  129 

"Ay,  to  be  sure,"  said  the  other.  "And  what  part 
o'  England  do  ye  hail  from  1 " 

"  I  was  fetched  from  Southampton,"  said  Jack.  "  I 
was  kidnapped." 

"  So ! "  said  the  man.  "  I  came  from  Hampshire  myself, 
and  I  was  kidnapped,  too.  That 's  been  more  than  twelve 
year  ago.  I  had  a  cousin  in  Southampton.  D'  ye  hap- 
pen to  know  anything  of  her — Polly  Ackerman?" 

"  Yes,  indeed,"  said  Jack,  "  I  do  know  a  Mistress  Mary 
Ackerman.  She  lives  in  Kennel  Alley.  Her  husband  's 
a  tailor-man.  A  tall,  thin  man  with  a  wart  on  his 
chin." 

"  Ay,"  said  the  man,  "  that 's  Polly  Ackerman's  hus- 
band to  a  T,  and  to  think  it 's  been  twelve  year  since 
I  see  'em.  Well,  here  we  are;  walk  in.  Here,  Coffee, 
take  this  horse  and  put  it  up  in  the  stable.  Walk  in." 
And  Jack  entered  the  barren  interior  with  its  earthen 
floor  and  its  rude,  home-made  furniture. 

That  evening,  after  supper.  Jack  and  his  host  sat  out 
in  front  of  the  house  in  the  gloaming.  Three  of  the  over- 
seer's helpers  came  over  from  their  cabins  to  sit  with 
them  and  smoke  their  pipes.  Jack,  being  a  new-comer, 
was  questioned  and  cross-questioned  about  the  old  coun- 
try until  he  was  wearied  of  telling  what  he  knew.  It 
was  all  very  quiet  and  restful  after  the  day's  journey. 
Some  voices  from  the  servants'  quarters  sounded  loud 
in  the  stillness  of  the  hot,  breathless  evening.  The  night- 
hawks  flew  high,  circling  with  piping  cries,  and  now  and 
then  dropping  with  sudden  booming  flight.  The  frogs 
from  the  distant  swamp  piped  and  croaked  ceaselessly, 
and  a  whippoorwill  perched  on  the  edge  of  the  roof  in 
the  darkness,  and  uttered  its  hm-ried  repeated  notes  over 
and  over  again  in  answer  to  one  of  its  kind  in  the  more 
distant  thickets.  Once  or  twice  Jack  wondered  aim- 
lessly how  it  was  faring  with  the  poor  servant  whom 
he  had  only  just  missed  seeing  whipped  an  hour  or  two 
before,  but  he  did  not  ask  the  overseer  about  him. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

MISS   ELEANOR   PAEKER 

IT  was  nearly  noon  the  next  day  when  Jack  rode  up 
to  the  front  of  Marlborough.  A  gi'oup  of  negToes 
came  gathering  about  the  horse,  and  Jack  asked  of  them 
whether  Colonel  Parker  was  at  home. 

"  Iss,  he  be  at  home,"  was  the  grinning  answer ;  but 
no  one  made  any  offer  to  help  him  in  any  way.  Just 
then  Mr.  Simms  came  to  the  door  of  his  office  in  one  of 
the  wings  of  the  house,  and  then,  though  bare-headed, 
walked  directly  across  in  the  sun  to  where  Jack  stood 
holding  his  horse. 

"  What  d'  ye  want  ? "  said  the  factor,  and  Jack  an- 
swered that  he  brought  a  letter  from  Mr.  Richard 
Parker  to  his  honor. 

"  Humph ! "  said  Mr.  Simms,  and  his  face  fell  some- 
what. "  You  don't  know  what  your  master  wants,  do 
vou?" 

Jack  looked  at  the  factor  somewhat  cunningly.  "  How 
should  I  know  ? "  said  he. 

"Well,  then,  give  me  the  letter,"  said  Mr.  Simms, 
"  and  I  '11  take  it  to  Colonel  Parker.  You  came  just  in 
time  to  find  him  at  home,  for  he 's  going  to  Williams- 
burg this  afternoon.  You  may  go  into  the  hall  and 
wait  for  your  answer  there,  if  you  choose.  Here, 
Blackie" — to  one  of  the  negroes — "take  this  horse 
over  to  the  stable.     Come  in,  young  man,  come  in ! " 

The  great  empty,  shady  hallway,  open  from  one  end 
to  the  other,  felt  and  looked  very  dark  and  cool  after 

130 


MISS   ELEANOK   PARKER  131 

the  glare  of  the  morning  sun  outside.  The  great  doors 
stood  open  from  the  rear  to  the  front,  and  from  where 
he  sat  Jack,  through  the  vista  of  trees,  could  catch  a 
glimpse  of  the  wide  river  stretching  away  in  the  sun- 
light, sparkling  and  glittering  in  the  warm  breeze. 
The  strong  wind  swept  through  the  space,  and  it  was 
very  cool  and  sweet.  Jack  sat  there  waiting  and  wait- 
ing. Somewhere  a  mocking-bird  in  a  cage  was  singing 
its  mimic  notes,  and  now  and  then  he  could  hear  the 
noise  of  voices  echoing  loudly  through  the  summer 
stillness  of  the  great  house.  There  was  the  sound  of 
an  occasional  banging  of  a  door,  a  distant  snatch  of  a 
high-pitched,  monotonous  negro  song.  Through  all 
these  he  could  hear  the  ceaseless  tinkling  and  jingling 
-of  a  spinet  played  in  one  of  the  more  distant  rooms. 
As  Jack  sat  listening,  holding  his  hat  in  his  hand,  he 
knew  that  it  must  be  Miss  Eleanor  Parker  who  was 
playing  the  spinet;  and  thinking  of  her  he  recalled 
that  first  day  of  his  servitude,  in  which  he  had  come 
out  across  the  lawn  and  had  seen  her  standing  behind 
her  father,  looking  at  him.  It  seemed  as  though  all 
that  had  happened  not  two  or  three  months  ago  but 
two  or  three  years  ago,  in  some  far-away  time  of  the 
past.  Suddenly  the  music  ceased — a  door  opened,  and 
the  young  lady  came  into  the  hall  fanning  herself.  As 
she  came  forward  Jack  rose  and  stood  waiting  for  her 
to  pass  by.  She  glanced  toward  him  and  was  about  to 
do  so,  when  she  suddenly  recognized  him  and  stojjped. 
"  Why,"  said  she,  "  are  you  not  the  young  man  that  papa 
gave  to  Uncle  Richard  for  a  servant  some  while  ago  ? " 

"  Yes,  lady,"  said  Jack,  and  he  blushed  hotly. 

"Methought  I  remembered  your  face,"  she  said; 
"  and  tell  me,  how  do  you  like  to  be  with  my  uncle  f " 

"I  like  it — that  is,  I  like  well  enough  to  be  with 
him,"  said  Jack,  "if  I  have  to  be  with  any  body.  I 
would  n't  be  anybody's  servant,  if  I  could  help  it." 


132  JACK   BALLISTEE'S   FOKTUNES 

"  But  sure,"  said  she,  "  you  must  be  somebody's  ser- 
vant. Why  else  did  you  come  from  England  except  to 
be  a  servant  1 " 

"I  could  not  help  coming,"  said  Jack.  "I  was 
knocked  in  the  head  and  kidnapped." 

"  Why,  then,"  said  she,  "  it  was  a  very  great  pity,  in- 
deed, for  you  to  have  been  treated  so.  What  is  your 
name  ?  " 

"Jack — that  is,  John  Ballister." 

Just  then  Mr.  Simms  came  down-stairs  to  where 
Jack  and  the  young  lady  stood.  "Colonel  Parker 
wants  to  see  you  up-stairs  in  his  closet,  young  man," 
said  the  factor;  and  then  to  the  young  lady,  " By  your 
leave.  Mistress  Nelly,"  said  he,  "  I  '11  have  to  take  him 
up-stairs  with  me,  his  honor  wishes  to  speak  with  him." 

"He  tells  me,  Mr.  Simms,  that  he  hath  been  kid- 
napped and  fetched  here  to  Virginia  against  his  will," 
she  said. 

"Like  enough.  Miss  Nelly.  'T  is  the  only  way  we 
can  supply  enough  servants  nowadays.  If  they  did  but 
know  it,  they  are  a  thousand  times  better  off  here  liv- 
ing at  ease  than  they  are  at  home  living  in  poverty." 

"  I  was  n't  living  in  poverty,"  Jack  said,  indignantly. 

"  There,  Mr.  Simms,  you  hear  what  he  says  ? "  said 
the  young  lady. 

"Well,  Miss  Nelly,  you  can  talk  about  this  some 
other  time,  maybe,  for  now  by  your  leave  I  must  take 
the  young  man  away.     His  honor  wants  to  see  him," 

When  Jack  was  ushered  into  Colonel  Parker's  pres- 
ence he  found  him  seated  in  a  large,  double-nailed  arm- 
chair at  an  open  window.  Some  books  and  a  lot  of 
letters  and  papers  lay  upon  the  writing-desk  near  at 
hand.  His  head  was  covered  by  a  silk  nightcap,  and  he 
wore  a  silk  dressing-gown.  A  sealed  letter  lay  upon 
the  window-sill  beside  him.  "  Come  hither,  young  man," 
he  said  to  Jack.     "  Have  n't  I  seen  you  before  1 " 


"l    don't    want    to    UK   ANViiiJDV'.S    .SERVANT,    LADY,    AND    WOULD   N'T    IP 


I    COULD    HELP    IT.' 


MISS   ELEANOR   PAEKEK  133 

"  Why,  yes,  your  honor,"  said  Jack.  "  You  gave  me 
as  a  servant  to  Mr.  Richard  Parker." 

"  He  was  one  of  the  servants  I  fetched  over  from 
Yorktown  when  the  Arundel  came  in,"  said  Mr.  Simms. 

"Oh,  yes,  I  remember  now."  said  Colonel  Parker. 
"  How  long  have  you  been  with  your  master ! " 

"  Between  two  and  three  months,  sir." 

"  Two  or  three  months,  hey !  Well,  tell  me  now, 
how  does  your  master  live — what  does  he  do  1 " 

"  I  don't  know  what  you  mean,  sir,"  said  Jack  hesi- 
tatingly, and  then  he  looked  in  the  direction  of  Mr. 
Simms. 

"  You  need  not  mind  my  agent,"  said  Colonel  Parker, 
"  and  I  want  you  to  speak  jilainly.  Tell  me,  does  your 
master  play  much  at  cards  or  dice  ?  " 

"Yes — yes,  sir,"  hesitated  Jack,  "he  does  play  some- 
times." 

"  You  see,  Simms,"  said  Colonel  Parker.  "  I  knew 
't  was  so.  That  is  where  the  money  all  goes."  Mr. 
Simms  did  not  reply,  and  Colonel  Parker  turned  to 
Jack  again.  "  Tell  me,"  he  said,  "  is  my  brother  often 
away  from  home  !  " 

"  Methinks,  sir,"  said  Mr.  Simms,  very  respectfully 
but  firmly,  "  you  do  your  brother  an  injustice  in  thus 
questioning  his  servant  behind  his  back." 

"  I  mean  to  do  him  no  injustice,  Simms,"  said  Colonel 
Parker,  impatiently,  "but  I  mean  to  do  myself  justice. 
Tell  me,  boy,"  he  continued,  turning  to  Jack,  "  do  men 
come  pushing  your  master  for  money  ?  " 

"  Sometimes,  sir,"  said  Jack.  "  There  was  a  man 
came  once  saying  that  Mr.  Parker  owed  him  a  thou- 
sand pounds,  and  last  night — " 

"  A  thousand  pounds ! "  interrupted  Colonel  Parker. 
"  'T  is  enough.  I  will  not  ruin  myself,  Simms,  for  him  or 
for  any  other  man.  Take  this  letter,  sirrah,  and  give 
it  to  your  master,"  and  he  handed  Jack  the  sealed  letter 


134  JACK   BALLISTEE'S   FORTUNES 

that  lay  in  the  window  place  beside  him.  "  And  now  get 
you  gone." 

It  was  the  middle  of  the  afternoon  of  the  following 
day  when  Jack  finally  reached  the  Roost.  Mr.  Parker 
himself  came  to  the  door  as  he  galloped  up  and  leaped 
to  the  ground,  and  the  housekeeper  looked  down  from 
an  upper  window.  Jack's  master  snatched  Colonel 
Parker's  note  from  his  fingers  and  tore  it  open  violently. 
He  hesitated  for  a  moment,  and  then  he  began  reading 
it,  running  his  glance  rapidly  down  the  letter.  As  he 
did  so,  his  face  gathered  into  a  heavier  and  heavier 
frown,  and  his  strong,  white  teeth  bit  deep  into  the  end 
of  the  cigarro.  At  last  he  crushed  the  letter  in  his 
hand.  Jack,  for  fear  he  should  appear  to  notice  any- 
thing, had  turned  and  had  begun  to  stroke  and  rub  the 
neck  of  the  sweating  horse.  When  he  looked  again, 
he  saw  that  Mr.  Parker  had  reopened  the  crumpled 
letter  and  was  reading  it  through  once  more,  this  time 
very  carefnlly.  Then,  having  finished  it  the  second 
time,  he  tore  it  sharply  across,  and  then  across  again 
and  again  and  into  little  pieces  that  fell  at  last  in  a 
white  fluttering  shower. 


CHAPTER  XIX 


THE   VISITOR   AGAIN 


IT  was  the  next  day  after  Jack  had  returned  from 
Marlborough.  The  night  was  still  and  sultry,  with 
just  a  breath  of  hot  breeze  blowing.  Jack  and  Little 
Coffee  were  sitting  together  on  the  door-step,  and  Jack 
was  telling  about  Miss  Eleanor  Parker.  The  moon  had 
risen  full  and  round,  and  bathed  all  the  dark,  hot,  pant- 
ing earth  with  a  flood  of  shimmering  silver.  The  fire- 
flies, which  were  now  just  beginning  to  illuminate  the 
night,  flashed  and  twinkled  here  and  there  in  clusters 
out  over  the  damper  places.  Jack's  coat  lay  upon  the 
step  beside  him,  and  now  he  sat  in  his  shirt  sleeves. 
Every  now  and  then  he  slapped  at  the  mosquitos  that 
sang  persistently  in  his  ears.  He  had  been  speaking 
of  Miss  Eleanor  Parker. 

"  I  see  her  once  myself,"  said  Little  Coffee. 

"  And  she  spoke  as  kind  as  could  be  to  me,  and  asked 
me  all  about  myself,"  continued  Jack,  without  paying 
any  attention  to  Little  Coffee.  "  I  told  her  how  I  had 
been  kidnapped.  I  do  believe  she  '11  speak  to  her  fa- 
ther about  me.  M — m — m — !"  he  groaned,  stretching 
himself.  "  I  'm  that  sore  with  riding  that  if  I  'd  had  a 
beating  I  could  n't  be  sorer.  Drat  that  mosquito  ! "  and 
he  slapped  his  cheek  violently. 

"  I  see  her  once,"  said  Little  Coffee  again.  "  Ai !  she 
a  beauty !  Um !  You  ain't  de  only  one  in  de  world 
see  her.     She  came  down  de  ribber  in  de  big  boat  and 


135 


136  JACK  BALLISTER'S  FOETUNES 

stopped  yan  at  de  landing.  I  stand  up  on  de  bluff  and 
I  see  her  with  three,  four  fine  people,  all  going  down 
ribber.     Dey  stop  here  for  de  ma — aster." 

They  were  so  intent  upon  their  talk  that  they  did 
not  notice  the  approach  of  a  stranger  through  the  milky 
brightness  of  the  night,  until  he  was  close  to  them. 
Then  he  was  there.  Jack  jumped  up  from  the  step 
as  the  visitor  approached,  his  feet  rustUng  in  the  long, 
dry,  moon-lit  grass.  Jack  did  not  know  him  at  first ; 
then  he  recognized  him.  It  was  the  man  with  the  long 
black  beard  who  had  come  at  night  three  days  before 
to  see  the  master.  He  was  trigged  out  now  with  a 
sort  of  tinsel  finery  that  made  a  great  show  in  the 
moonlight.  He  wore  petticoat  canvas  breeches  and  a 
short-skirted  coat,  trimmed,  as  was  the  hat,  with  gilt 
braid.  He  wore  a  satin  waistcoat,  and  across  his  breast 
a  silken  sling,  from  which  dangled  a  brace  of  pistols. 
A  broad  leathern  belt,  from  which  hung  a  cutlass,  was 
fastened  at  his  waist  by  a  brass  buckle.  The  moonlight 
shone  upon  a  gold  chain  about  his  neck,  and  his  beard, 
which  before  had  hung  loose  over  his  breast,  was  now 
plaited  into  three  plaits. 

Jack  looked  at  him  with  wonder,  and  Little  Coffee 
stared  with  mouth  agape  and  shining  eyes.  The  stran- 
ger, perfectly  indifferent  to  them,  spoke  directly  to 
Jack.  "  Is  your  master  at  home,  boy  1 "  he  said,  in  his 
hoarse,  husky  voice. 

"  Yes,  he  is,"  said  Jack. 

"  Wei],  then,  just  tell  him  I  'm  here,"  said  the  visitor, 
"  for  he  's  expecting  me." 

The  doors  and  windows  of  the  house  stood  wide  open 
in  the  warm  night.  Jack  led  the  stranger  into  the  hall, 
the  man's  heavy  shoes  clattering  loudly  in  the  silence. 
Mr.  Parker  sat  at  the  desk  in  the  room  beyond,  looking 
over  some  papers  by  the  light  of  a  candle.  The  warm 
breeze  came  in  at  the  window,  and  the  candle  flickered 


THE   VISITOR   AGAIN  137 

and  wavered.  The  insects  flew  around  and  around  the 
light,  and  great  beetles  droned  and  tumbled  in  blun- 
dering flight.  The  room  was  full  of  the  sooty  smell 
from  the  emjDty  fireplace.  Mr.  Parker  sat  in  his  shirt 
sleeves.  He  looked  up  as  Jack  tapped  upon  the  door, 
and  his  fine  florid  face  glistened  with  sweat.  "  Here  's 
a  man  wants  to  see  your  honor,"  said  Jack. 

The  stranger  pushed  roughly  by  Jack  and  entered. 
"  I  thought  it  must  be  you,  captain,"  said  Mr.  Parker, 
coldly ;  "  I  've  been  looking  for  you  all  the  afternoon. 
Here ;  take  this  chair  and  sit  down,"  and  he  pointed  to 
a  seat  as  he  spoke,  turning  his  own  chair  around  so  as 
to  bring  his  back  to  the  candle  and  his  face  into 
shadow.  "  You  may  go,"  said  he  to  Jack,  "  and  shnt 
the  door  after  you." 

Mr.  Parker  waited,  after  the  door  closed,  until  he 
heard  Jack's  departing  footsteps  quitting  the  house. 
Meantime,  he  looked  his  visitor  over  with  perfectly  cool 
indifference,  but  with  a  sort  of  dry  interest  in  his  sin- 
gular costume — his  eyes  lingering  particularly  upon 
the  plaited  beard  and  the  chain  around  the  neck.  "  I 
suj^pose,  my  good  man,"  said  he  at  last,  "  that  you  've 
come  for  the  settlement  of  that  paper  of  yours  f  " 

"  Why,  yes,  I  have,"  said  the  other.  "  Why  else  d'  ye 
suppose  I  'd  come  1 " 

"  Well,  then,"  said  Mr.  Parker,  "  I  'm  sorry  for  you, 
for  I  can't  say  that  I  'm  ready,  after  all,  to  settle  it,  or 
even  a  part  of  it.  And  what  's  more,  I  won't  be  for 
four  weeks  or  more  yet,  nor  until  my  brother's  agent 
pays  me  my  quarterly  allowance." 

"  Not  ready  !  "  exclaimed  the  other,  and  he  stared  with 
bold  anger  at  Mr.  Parker.  "  What  d'  ve  mean  bv  that  ? 
Why  should  you  tell  me  last  week  that  you  'd  pay  me 
to-day,  and  then  in  so  short  a  time  change  your  mind 
and  blow  t'  other  way?"  Mr.  Parker  shrugged  his 
shoulders  coolly,  but  did  not  condescend  to  explain  how 


138  JACK   BAIiLISTER'S   FORTUNES 

he  had  been  disappointed  in  getting  money  from  his 
brother. 

"  And  don't  you  intend  to  pay  me  at  all,  then  1 "  the 
stranger  asked  in  a  loud  voice. 

"  Why,  fellow,"  said  Mr.  Parker,  "  it  will  do  you  no 
good  to  lift  your  voice  and  to  bluster  at  me.  You  can't 
squeeze  blood  out  of  a  stone,  and  you  can't  squeeze 
money  out  of  a  man  who  hath  none." 

"  And  when  will  you  pay  me,  then  f " 

"  That  I  cannot  tell  you  either,  except,  as  I  said,  I 
will  settle  something  upon  the  paper  when  my  allow- 
ance is  paid  me,  and  that  will  be  four  weeks  from 
next  Monday." 

"Why,  then,  Mr.  Parker,"  said  the  other,  speaking 
more  and  more  violently,  "  you  know  very  well  that  I 
can't  be  here  four  weeks  from  now.  You  know  very 
well  what  danger  I  stand  in  here  in  Virginia  as  it  is, 
and  that  I  can't  come  and  go  as  I  please,  or  as  you 
please  for  me.  You  was  pleased  to  tell  me,  last  time  I 
was  here,  that  I  'd  broke  my  pardon,  and  you  know  I 
come  here  with  a  halter  around  my  neck.  Come,  come, 
Mr.  Parker,  if  you  know  what 's  good  for  you  you  '11 

make  some  reasonable  settlement  with  me,  and  by 

you  must  make  it  to-night." 

"  Must  ?     Must,  Mr.  Pirate  ? " 

"  Yes,  must,  Mr.  Gambler.  Lookee,  wind  and  weather 
permitting,  I  sail  for  North  Carolina  the  day  after  to- 
morrow. If  by  that  time  you  don't  make  some  settle- 
ment of  this  paper  of  yours,  I  '11  send  it  to  your  brother 
for  collection,  and  tell  him  how  I  came  by  it.  D'  ye 
understand  ? " 

Mr.  Parker,  who  from  the  first  had  not  seemed  to 
be  keenly  alert  to  the  importance  of  the  business  in 
hand,  sat  fingering  the  papers  upon  his  desk,  looking 
intently  at  the  other,  but  as  though  he  did  not  hear 
what  he  was  saying.    After  his  visitor  had  ended  speak- 


THE   VISITOR  AGAIN  139 

ing  he  still  sat  gazing  at  him  for  a  little  space  of  silence. 
At  last,  as  though  suddenly  arousing  himself,  he  said : 
"  Pull  your  chair  up  here,  I  want  to  say  something  in 
your  ear." 

"  What  d'  ye  mean  ?  "  said  his  visitor,  suspiciously. 

"  I  mean  that  I  have  to  say  something  privately  to 
you.  So  pull  your  chair  up  here  close  to  me."  And 
then  the  other  obeyed,  drawing  his  chair  close  to  the 
desk  in  front  of  which  Mr.  Parker  sat.  "  I  have  some- 
thing in  my  mind,"  said  Mr.  Parker,  presently,  break- 
ing the  silence  and  speaking  in  a  lower  voice,  "  I  have 
something  in  my  mind  that  may  be  of  advantage  to 
us  both  if  you  are  the  man  to  help  me  carry  it  out,  and 
't  is  of  that  I  want  to  speak  to  you." 

The  other  sat  looking  intently  at  Mr.  Parker  as  he 
spoke.  "D'  ye  mean,"  said  he,  "that  you  and  I  shall 
go  into  some  venture  together ! " 

"I  mean  something  of  that  sort,"  said  Mr.  Parker, 
and  as  he  spoke  there  was  more  than  the  usual  haugh- 
tiness in  his  tone  and  bearing. 

"  Well,  what  is  it  you  have  to  propose,  then  ? "  said 
the  visitor,  in  no  way  overawed.  Again  there  was  a 
little  time  of  silence,  and  then  Mr.  Parker  suddenly 
said  :  "  I  have  a  mind  to  be  plain  with  you.  Pirate,  and 
I  will  be  so,  for  I  am  driven  to  it.  The  case  is  just 
this" — and  then,  as  with  some  effort — "  I  am  a  ruined 
and  a  desperate  man.  I  am  pushed  fairly  to  the  wall, 
and  know  of  nowhere  to  get  a  single  farthing  of  money 
to  help  me  out  of  my  pinch."  Even  with  his  back  to  the 
candles  the  other  could  see  that  his  handsome,  florid 
face  had  flushed  to  a  redder  red  than  usual,  and  that  he 
frowned  a  little  as  he  spoke.  "  I  will  tell  you  plain," 
he  said,  "  I  am  in  such  straits  that  only  some  desperate 
chance  can  set  me  to  rights  again.  So  far  as  I  can  tell, 
I  owe  some  five  or  six  thousand  pounds  to  one  and  an- 
other here  in  Virginia,  besides  something  in  Maryland, 


140  JACK   BALLISTEE'S   FORTUNES 

and  something  more  in  South  Carolina.  'T  is  not  so 
very  much,  but  't  is  enough  to  give  you  and  others  a 
chance  to  push  me  hard.  The  time  was  —  that  was 
when  I  was  living  in  England — that  my  father  would 
send  me  that  much  money  in  a  lump,  and  did  so  two 
or  three  times.  But  now  my  brother  Birchall  hath 
everything  and  I  have  nothing;  and  ten  thousand 
pounds  is  more  to  me  now  than  fifty  thousand  pounds 
was  to  me  then.  If  I  could  by  some  chance  get  seven 
thousand  pounds,  methinks  I  could  set  myself  to  rights. 
But  where  can  a  desperate  man  get  seven  thousand 
pounds  except  by  some  desperate  chance  ? " 

He  did  not  say  all  this  sequentially,  but  with  many 
breaks  and  pauses,  and  it  was  so  he  continued,  pausing 
every  now  and  then,  and  then  sj)eaking  suddenly  again 
as  though  with  an  effort.  Now  he  had  stoj)ped  in  his 
speech  and  was  playing,  fiddling  with  a  pen.  Then  he 
began  his  broken  talk  again :  "  Well,  I  'd  as  leave  say 
this  to  a  rascal  like  you  as  to  any  other  man — I  am  a 
ruined,  desperate  man.  Day  before  yesterday  I  sent  a 
letter  to  my  brother  Birchall  asking  for  an  immediate 
loan  of  five  hundred  j)ounds,  and  offering  any  sort  of 
security  that  he  might  demand,  and  that  I  could  give, 
if  he  would  loan  me  five  thousand  pounds.  I  set  forth 
to  him  how  desperate  were  my  circumstances,  but  no, 
he  would  not  consider  or  think  of  anything,  but  sent 
me  a  letter — "  He  ceased  and  sat  frowning  at  the 
other.  "You  see,"  he  said,  resuming,  "when  I  came 
back  from  England  four  years  ago  I  came  a  ruined 
man.  My  father  had  given  me  all  that  I  had  asked 
for  while  I  was  living  in  England,  but  when  he  died 
he  left  everything  to  my  brother  Birchall,  and  nothing 
to  me  except  this  plantation,  which  is  not  a  tenth 
part,  I  may  say,  of  what  had  been  the  estate.  He  said 
that  he  had  given  me  my  share,  and  more  than  that, 
while  he  lived,  and  so  he  gave  the  estate  to  my  brother, 


THE   VISITOR  AGAIN  141 

who  had  married  a  great  heiress  and  needed  it  not.  I 
had  to  run  away  from  England  to  escape  my  debts, 
and  still  they  followed  me  up.  Then  I  was  forced  into 
asking  my  brother  for  help.  I  spoke  pretty  roundly 
to  him,  telling  him  what  I  thought  of  such  injustice, 
that  gave  him  everything  and  me  nothing,  and  so  in 
the  end  he  paid  my  debts  for  me.  But  he  talked  to  me 
in  such  a  way  as  showed  plainly  enough  that  he 
thought,  in  paying  my  debts,  he  had  bought  me  body 
and  soul,  and  might  treat  me  as  he  chose,  and  say 
things  to  me  as  he  pleased.  I  bore  from  him  what  I 
would  not  have  borne  from  any  other  man  in  all  the 
world.  Well,  this  letter  which  he  hath  sent  me  in  an- 
swer to  my  request  for  a  loan  of  money,  is  such  as  hath 
driven  me  clean  to  the  wall,  and  with  no  help  left  to 
me,  and  I  am  a  desperate  man.  He  comes  as  near  to 
calling  me  a  rogue  as  he  dares  to  do,  and  tells  me  in 
so  many  words  that  I  am  a  disgrace  and  a  dishonor  to 
him.  Well,  then,  if  he  thinks  that  I  am  a  dishonor 
to  him,  I  may  as  well  be  so." 

All  this  time  the  stranger  had  been  sitting  motion- 
lessly  listening  to  what  the  other  said,  his  eyes  fixed 
intently  upon  the  shadowed  face  of  the  master  of  the 
Roost.     Presently  Mr.  Parker  resumed : 

"  His  letter  is  of  the  kind  that  makes  me  feel  easy  to 
do  what  I  can  to  get  from  him  what  he  will  not  give 
me,  and  what,  if  my  father  had  but  been  just  to  me, 
would  have  been  mine  by  rights.  'T  would  have  cost 
him  nothing  to  have  spared  me  five  hundred  pounds, 
or  five  thousand  pounds,  either ;  but  now  I  will  get  it 
from  him  if  I  can,  let  him  suffer  from  it  ever  so  much." 
He  checked  himself  suddenly,  and  then  said,  "  Why,  do 
you  suppose,  am  I  telling  you  all  this  that  I  would  not 
tell  to  any  other  man  in  all  the  world." 

"  Why,  that  is  the  very  thing  I  'm  waiting  for  you  to 
let  me  know,"  said  the  other. 


142  JACK   BALLISTEE'S   FOETUNES 

Mr.  Parker  hesitated  for  a  moment,  and  then  he  said, 
^'  Will  you  have  something  to  drink  ?  " 

"  Why,  yes,"  said  the  other.  "  If  you  have  it  handy 
here,  I  would  like  right  well  to  have  a  glass  of  grog." 

Mr.  Parker  turned  as  though  to  summon  Jack,  then, 
as  if  thinking  better  of  it,  he  himself  arose,  went  to  the 
closet  at  the  side  of  the  fireplace,  and  brought  thence 
a  bottle  of  rum  and  a  glass.  "Can  you  do  without 
water?"  said  he. 

"  Yes,  I  can  if  I  must,"  said  the  other. 

Mr.  Parker  pushed  the  papers  aside  on  the  desk  and 
set  the  bottle  and  glass  within  reach  of  his  visitor,  who 
poured  out  nearly  half  a  tumblerful  of  the  liquor. 

Mr.  Parker  looked  coldly  on  as  he  filled  his  glass. 
"Well,  then,  my  plan  is,  as  I  said,  to  get  from  my 
brother  Birchall  by  force  what  he  would  not  give  me 
of  his  own  free  will.  Are  you  listening  !  "  The  other 
nodded  briefly,  raised  the  glass  to  his  lips,  and  drank 
off  the  rum  he  had  poured  out.  "  You  know  perhaps 
that  my  brother  has  only  one  living  child  ? " 

The  visitor  seemed  struck  by  Mr.  Parker's  sudden 
question.  He  looked  at  him  for  a  second  or  two  in  an 
almost  startled  silence,  and  then  again  nodded  briefly. 

"  His  child  is  a  daughter,"  said  Mr.  Parker,  "  and  a 
very  beautiful  and  charming  young  lady,  and  one  of 
whom  I  am  very  fond.  Now,  if  some  desperate  pirate — 
one,  for  example,  like  yourself" — and  he  looked  his 
visitor  steadily  almost  scornfully  in  the  face  as  he 
spoke  —  "  should  kidnap  this  young  lady,  and  carry  her 
away,  say  to  somewhere  in  North  Carolina,  I  know 
very  well  that  my  brother  would  give  ten,  yes,  maybe 
twenty  thousand  pounds  by  way  of  ransom  to  have 
her  safe  back  again." 

A  pause  of  perfect  and  unbroken  silence  followed. 
"I  never  did  anything  of  that  kind  before,"  said  Mr. 
Parker's  visitor  at  last,  "  and  I  would  n't  know  how  to 
manage  it." 


THE  VISITOR  AGAIN  143 

"Why,  as  for  managing  it,"  said  Mr.  Parker,  "it 
could  be  managed  easily  enough.  You  would  only 
have  to  go  up  the  river  some  time  when  my  brother 
was  away  from  home  and  when  nobody  was  there,  and 
carry  off  the  young  lady.  You  live  down  in  North 
Carolina,  and  you  could  take  her  home  until  her  father 
could  ransom  her."  Then,  after  a  moment  or  two  of 
brooding  silence,  he  continued  almost  with  a  flash : 
"  But,  understand,  she  is  my  niece,  and  if  anything  of 
the  kind  is  done  she  is  to  be  treated  in  every  way  as 
befits  a  lady  of  such  rank  and  quality  in  the  world. 
There  shall  be  no  needless  roughness,  nor  anything 
said  or  done  after  she  is  taken  away  from  home  that 
may  be  unfit  for  her  to  hear  or  to  see.  I  have  naught 
against  my  niece.  I  am  very  fond  of  her.  If  her 
father  suffers,  't  is  his  own  fault,  but  I  will  not  have 
her  suffer.     D'  ye  understand  f  " 

"Yes,"  said  the  other  with  a  sort  of  sullen  acquies- 
cence, "  I  understand." 

"You  have  a  home  down  in  Bath  and  you  have  a 
wife  there,  I  understand.  The  young  lady  shall  be 
taken  to  your  wife  and  waited  upon  by  hei*." 

The  other  nodded  his  head,  but  made  no  reply. 
Presently  he  asked :  "  But  how  is  the  rest  to  be  man- 
aged ?  How  is  your  brother  to  be  approached,  and  how 
is  the  money  to  be  handled  that  is  to  redeem  the  young 
lady ! " 

"  I  am  about  to  tell  you  that,"  said  Mr.  Parker,  curtly. 
"  I  understand  that  Mr.  Knight,  the  Colonial  Secretary 
in  North  Carolina,  is  a  friend  of  yours.  Now  it  shall 
be  arranged  that  Mr.  Knight  shall  send,  by  some  decent, 
respectable  merchant-captain,  a  letter  addressed  to  me. 
The  letter  will  be  of  a  kind  to  tell  me  that  my  niece 
hath  been  taken  by  some  of  the  Pamlico  pirates,  who  hold 
her  for  ransom.  Then  I  will  approach  my  brother,  and 
the  matter  will  be  arranged — I  acting  as  my  brother's 
agent  and  Mr.  Knight  as  the  agent  of  the  pirates." 


144  JACK   BALLISTEK'S   FORTUNES 

The  other  listened  closely  aud  attentively.  "And 
what  share  of  the  money  might  you  expect  when  the 
matter  is  settled  ? "  he  asked. 

"  I  shall  expect,"  said  Mr.  Parker,  "  to  have  the  half 
of  it.  You  and  Mr.  Knight  can  settle  the  balance 
betwixt  yourselves." 

The  other  whistled  and  then  arose,  pushing  back  the 
chair  noisily.  "  Why,  Mr.  Parker,"  said  he,  "  I  am  not 
used  to  doing  business  that  way.  If  the  thing  is  done 
at  all,  I  take  it,  it  is  done  at  the  risk  of  my  neck  and 
not  at  the  risk  of  your  neck.  The  danger  falls  all  upon 
me  and  none  of  it  upon  you,  and  yet  you  expect  the 
half  of  all  the  gain  for  yourself.  My  terms  are  these : 
I  shall  have  half  of  what  comes  of  the  venture,  and  not 
you;  and  you  and  Mr.  Knight,  as  agents,  shall  share 
the  balance  betwixt  you." 

Mr.  Parker  also  pushed  back  his  chair  and  rose. 
"  Then,  sir,"  said  he,  "  if  you  choose  to  quibble  so,  the 
business  is  all  over  between  us,  for  I  tell  you  plainly 
that  I  shall  not  abate  one  single  jot  or  tittle.  I  shall 
have  the  half  of  what  is  made  of  this  venture  for  my 
share,  or  there  shall  be  no  venture  and  nothing  to  share 
at  all.  As  for  that  paper  of  mine  you  hold,  you  will 
get  not  a  farthing  upon  it  as  it  stands,  and  you  may 
send  it  to  my  brother  if  you  choose,  for,  after  all,  I 
can't  be  worse  ruined  than  I  am  now,"  and  he  shrugged 
his  shoulders. 

The  other  looked  into  his  face  for  a  moment  or  two, 
but  there  was  not  a  shade  or  sign  of  yielding  in  it.  Then 
he  burst  out  laughing.  "Well,  Mr.  Tobacco-Plauter- 
Gambler,"  said  he,  "  you  do  drive  a  mightily  hard  bar- 
gain, to  be  sure.  Well,  as  you  won't  come  to  me  I 
must  come  to  you.  I  tell  you  what  it  is,  I  will  think 
over  all  that  you  have  said,  and  then  let  you  know  your 
answer. 

"Very  well,"  said  Mr.  Parker,  "and  when  will 
that  be!" 


THE   VISITOR  AGAIN  145 

"  Well,  I  will  let  you  know  it  on  Wednesday  next." 

"  Very  well,"  said  Mr.  Parker,  "  I  will  be  down  at 
Parrott's  on  Wednesday  next,  and  then  we  can  settle 
the  matter  one  way  or  the  other." 

"At  Parrott's,  on  Wednesday  next,"  repeated  the 
other.     "  That  will  suit  me  very  well  indeed." 

"  And  now,  is  there  anything  more  f  " 

"Why,  yes,  there  is,"  said  the  other.  "How  about 
this  note  of  hand  that  you  was  to  settle  this  evening  1 " 
and  he  tapped  the  breast  of  his  coat. 

"  That,"  said  Mr.  Parker,  "  must  go  without  settle- 
ment. You  shall  keep  it  for  the  present  as  an  assur- 
ance of  good  faith  upon  my  part.  But  when  Mr. 
Knight  sends  the  letter  to  me,  as  I  have  planned  for 
him  to  do,  the  paper  must  be  inclosed  in  it  and  sent 
to  me." 

"  And  how  about  settlement  upon  it  ?  " 

"  It  must,"  said  Mr.  Parker,  "  go,  as  I  told  you,  with- 
out settlement,  for  I  tell  you  plainly  that  I  won't  con- 
clude this  business  vnth  you  if  you  hold  any  paper 
with  my  name  signed  to  it.  I  don't  choose  so  to  put 
myself  into  the  hands  of  any  man,  much  less  into  your 
hands." 

Then  once  more  the  other  burst  out  laughing.  He 
clapped  Mr.  Parker  upon  the  shoulder.  Mr.  Parker 
drew  himself  a  little  back,  though  he  chose  to  show 
no  resentment  at  his  visitor's  familiarity.  "Methinks 
you  had  better  go  now,"  said  he. 

"  Very  well,"  said  the  other,  "  very  well,  I  '11  go." 

He  stopped  only  long  enough  to  pour  for  himself  an- 
other half-glass  of  rum  while  Mr.  Parker  stood  by 
watching  him;  then  he  opened  the  door  and  walked 
across  the  hall  and  out  of  the  house.  Mr.  Parker  fol- 
lowed him  and  stood  upon  the  door-step  watching  him 
as  he  stalked  away  through  the  white  moonlight  toward 
the  bluff  overlooking  the  misty  distance  of  the  river 
beyond. 

10 


CHAPTEE  XX 

THE   WILD   TUEKEY 

THE  ending  to  that  strange  and  unsettled  life  that 
Jack  led  at  the  Roost  came  as  suddenly  and  as 
shaiply  as  though  the  one  part  of  his  existence  had 
been  severed  from  the  other  part  by  the  keen  cut  of 
the  knife  of  fate. 

Mr.  Parker  had  been  away  from  home  for  nearly  a 
couple  of  weeks.  He  had  not  taken  Jack  with  him,  so 
that  during  that  time  the  lad  had  little  or  nothing  to 
do  excepting  such  light  work  about  the  house  as  Peggy 
Pitcher  demanded  of  him. 

A  great  deal  of  his  time  he  spent  in  or  about  Dennis's 
cabin,  maybe  sitting  in  the  great  sooty  fireplace  talk- 
ing ramblingly  to  the  overseer,  while  the  negro  wife 
pattered  about  the  bare  earthen  floor  in  her  naked  feet, 
her  face  always  stolid  and  expressionless  as  with  a  sort 
of  savage,  almost  resentful  reserve. 

When  the  master  was  away  from  home,  Dennis,  as 
has  been  said,  sometimes  went  off  fishing  or  hunting. 
He  had  an  old  musket  hidden  away  in  his  cabin,  and 
now  and  then  he  would  fetch  home  a  raccoon,  an  opos- 
sum, a  half-dozen  squirrels,  or  some  other  such  bit  of 
fresh  meat  from  the  forest  or  the  clearing.  One  hot 
and  sultry  afternoon  during  this  memorable  time  of 
the  master's  absence,  he  and  Jack  started  off  to  a  clear- 
ing about  a  mile  away,  where  of  a  morning  or  in  the 
slant  of  the  day  a  flock  of  turkey-cocks,  banished  now 

146 


THE   WILD   TUEKEY  147 

from  the  company  of  their  hens,  would  gather  together 
to  feed  in  the  long,  shaggy  grass. 

Peggy  Pitcher  was  very  angry  at  Jack's  going  with 
Dennis  instead  of  staying  at  home  to  attend  to  his 
work.  She  and  Jack  were  very  good  friends,  but  there 
were  times  when  she  would  become  very  provoked  with 
him.  "I  just  wish  his  honor  would  come  home  and 
find  you  gone,"  she  said.  "I'd  just  like  him  to  give 
you  a  good  leathering  some  fine  day.  Then  maybe  you  'd 
learn  to  stay  at  home  and  'tend  to  your  own  work." 

She  was  very  angry,  and  Jack  burst  out  laughing  at 
her  as  he  ran  away  out  of  the  house  and  into  the  hot 
yellow  afternoon  sunshine. 

Dennis,  with  his  musket  balanced  over  his  shoulder, 
was  waiting  for  Jack,  and  the  two  struck  off  together 
across  a  shaggy  field  of  last  year's  Indian  corn,  toward 
a  dark  belt  of  pine  woods  in  the  distance.  There  were 
some  half-dozen  negroes  hoeing  in  a  neighboring  field 
under  guard  of  a  half-breed  overseer,  and  they  stopped 
from  their  work  and  stood  looking  as  the  two  passed 
by.  Before  they  reached  the  woodland.  Little  Coffee 
came  running  after  them.  He  reached  them  panting, 
the  sweat  running  down  his  black  face  in  bright  drops. 
Dennis  did  not  order  him  home  again,  but  without 
seeming  to  perceive  his  presence,  walked  away,  straight 
across  the  shaggy  field,  striking  into  the  edge  of  the 
clearing  that  bounded  the  deeper  growth  of  woods  be- 
yond. Jack  keeping  pace  with  him  on  one  side  and 
Little  Coffee  upon  the  other. 

"  When  I  rode  over  to  Marlborough  t'  other  day," 
said  Jack,  "  there  was  a  great  big  turkey  came  out  and 
crossed  over  the  road  just  in  front  of  me.  I  believe  I 
could  have  knocked  it  over  with  a  stick  or  a  stone  if 
I  'd  had  one  in  my  hand." 

"Aye,"  said  Dennis,  "there  be  a  many  of  them 
through  the  woods."     He  was  chewing  upon  a  piece  of 


148  JACK   BALLISTER'S   FORTUNES 

spice-wood  which  he  had  broken  off  from  one  of  the 
bushes  as  he  passed  by. 

"Me  see  heaps  of  turkeys  lots  of  times,"  said  Little 
Coffee,  but  neither  Jack  nor  Dennis  paid  any  attention 
to  him. 

To  Jack  the  woods  presently  became  an  impenetrable 
maze  of  trees  and  undergrowth,  but  Dennis  walked 
straight  on  without  any  hesitation.  It  was  very  warm 
under  the  still  shadows  of  the  pines.  Now  and  then 
there  were  patches  of  underbrush,  and  now  and  then 
they  had  to  stoop  low  to  pass  through  the  thickets; 
Little  Coffee  was  sometimes  obliged  to  pick  his  way 
so  carefully  through  the  cat-briers  that  he  was  left  far 
behind.  At  a  certain  place  they  came  to  a  morass  in 
the  woods  which  seemed  to  be  the  head  waters  of  some 
creek — a  cluster  of  smooth,  glassy  pools,  suiTounded 
by  trees  and  bushes.  Here  the  ground  was  soft  and 
spong}'  under  foot,  and  Dennis  picked  his  way  carefully 
along,  Jack  following  in  his  footsteps. 

"Look  at  that  snake!"  cried  out  Dennis  sharply,  and 
Jack  started  violently  at  the  quick  words  breaking 
upon  the  silence.  Dennis  made  a  thrust  at  the  reptile 
with  the  butt  of  his  gun,  but  it  slipped  quickly  into  the 
water  and  was  gone. 

"  'T  was  a  moccasin-snake,"  said  Dennis. 

Jack  laughed.  "  I  'm  glad  I  have  n't  Little  Coffee's 
bare  legs,  anyhow,"  he  said.  Dennis  grinned  and  looked 
at  Little  Coffee  where  he  stood  with  rolling  eyes,  seeing 
another  snake  in  every  coil  of  roots. 

Jack  never  forgot  these  minute  particulars  of  that 
day's  adventures ;  that  which  happened  afterward 
seemed  to  stamp  them  indelibly  upon  his  memory. 

So,  at  last,  they  came  out  into  an  open  space  of  some 
twenty  or  thirty  acres  in  extent  where  the  trees  had 
been  cleared  away.  Here  and  there  were  little  patches 
of  bushes,  and  here  and  there  the  tall  trunk  of  a  tree, 


THE   WILD   TURKEY  149 

blackened  and  seared  by  fire,  stood  stark  and  erect. 
Across,  beyond  the  clearing,  was  a  strip  of  bine  river, 
tlie  distant  further  shore  hazy  in  the  hot  sunlight. 

"Is  this  the  place  where  the  turkeys  feed!"  Jack 
asked. 

"Aye,"  said  Dennis.  "  Phew ! "  he  continued,  wiping 
his  streaming  face  with  his  shirt-sleeve,  "it  surely  be 
mortal  hot  this  day." 

Jack  looked  all  around  the  wide  spread  of  clearing. 
There  was  not  a  sign  of  life  in  all  the  vast  shimmering 
expanse,  except  a  few  turkey-buzzards  sailing  smoothly 
through  the  air  and  two  or  three  others  perched  upon 
a  blackened  limb  of  a  tree. 

"  There  's  something  dead  over  yonder,"  observed 
Dennis. 

"Where  do  you  find  the  turkeys,  Dennis?"  said 
Jack. 

"  Find  'em ! "  said  Dennis.  "  Why,  you  find  'em 
here.  Where  else  should  you  find  'em!"  Jack  did  not 
ask  further  questions,  and  presently  Dennis  explained : 
"They  won't  come  ont  of  the  woods  till  toward  the 
cool  of  the  afternoon,  when  they  come  out  to  feed. 
Then  we  've  got  to  creep  upon  'em  or  lay  by  till  they 
come  to  us."  As  he  spoke  he  wiped  his  face  again  with 
his  sleeve. 

By  and  by  he  began  loading  his  musket,  measuring 
the  powder  very  carefully,  wrapjDing  the  bullet  in  a 
piece  of  greasy  cloth,  and  ramming  it  down  with  some 
difficulty  into  the  gun. 

Jack  sat  upon  a  fallen  log,  watching  him,  and  Little 
Coffee  sat  squatted  upon  his  hams,  also  looking  on. 
After  Dennis  had  loaded  his  musket,  he  propped  it 
carefully  upon  the  log  and  then  stretched  himself  out 
at  length  upon  a  little  gi'assy  place  under  the  shade  of  a 
tree.  "  By  smoke  ! "  he  said,  "  I  wish  I  had  a  drink  of 
water." 


150  JACK   BALLISTEE'S   FOKTUNES 

Jack  had  not  realized  until  Dennis  spoke  how  thirsty 
he  himself  was.     "  I  wish  I  had  one,  too,"  he  said. 

"  Well,  you  can  just  wish  for  it,"  said  Dennis,  "  and 
so  can  I,  and  that's  the  best  we  can  do.  You  keep  a 
sharp  lookout  now,"  he  said,  "and  the  best  pair  of  eyes 
sees  the  turkeys  first." 

He  stretched  himself  out  as  he  spoke  and  closed  his 
eyes,  as  though  to  sleep. 

The  sun  had  sunk  further  and  further  toward  the 
west,  and  the  shadows  of  the  trees  were  growing  longer 
and  longer.  Jack  sat  listening  and  enjoying  the  warm 
solitude.  How  strange  and  wonderful  it  all  was ;  how 
far  remote  from  that  old  life  he  had  left  behind  in  Eng- 
land. England!  his  mind  went  backward  feeling  around 
amid  the  things  of  the  past,  and  measuring  them  with 
the  present.     That  was  England — this  was  America. 

"  Yan  de  turkey,  Massa  Dennis  ! "  Little  Coffee  whis- 
pered, suddenly,  and  Jack  came  sharply  back  to  the 
consciousness  of  things  about  him  with  a  sudden  keen 
thrill  that  was  almost  painful  in  its  intensity. 

Dennis  had  started  up  from  where  he  lay  and  was 
looking  in  the  direction  in  which  Little  Coffee  was 
pointing.  Jack  raised  himself  cautiously  and  also 
looked  in  the  same  direction.  His  heart  was  beating 
very  quickly.  The  turkeys  had  come  out  from  the 
woods  without  any  one  of  the  three  ha\4ng  seen  them 
until  that  moment.  They  were  feeding  in  the  open 
about  a  fui-long  away,  and  maybe  fifty  or  sixty  yards 
from  the  edge  of  the  woods. 

Dennis  arose,  and,  without  speaking,  took  up  his  gun. 
Then,  partly  crouching,  he  skirted  back  into  the  woods 
and  along  the  edge  of  the  clearing,  Jack  following  him 
and  Little  Coffee  following  Jack.  So  they  went  on  for 
some  distance,  and  then  Dennis  turned  sharply  out 
again  toward  the  edge  of  the  woods.    He  went  forward 


THE   WILD   TUKKEY  151 

now  very  slowly  and  cautiously,  and  Jack  still  followed 
him,  half  crouching.  He  was  intensely  excited,  his 
mouth  was  dry  and  clammy,  and  his  pulse  beat  heavily 
in  his  ears.  He  did  not  notice  the  sweat  trickling 
down  his  face.  Would  Dennis  really  shoot  one  of  the 
turkeys  ? 

"  Wait  a  little,"  said  Dennis,  without  turning  around, 
"  till  I  see  where  I  be." 

Jack  could  now  see  between  the  thickets  that  the 
clearing  was  just  ahead.  Dennis  crept  cautiously  for- 
ward and  Jack  stood  watching  him.  Presently  he  saw 
that  the  other  was  beckoning  for  him  to  come  forward. 
He  did  so,  approaching  very  carefully.  Dennis  was 
crouched  down,  looking  out  through  the  bushes,  and 
Jack  came  close  to  him.  Little  Coffee  following.  He 
peered  out  from  between  the  leaves;  there  were  the 
turkeys,  perhaps  fifty  or  sixty  yards  away — a  half  a 
dozen  or  more  great  cock  turkeys.  To  Jack's  eyes  they 
looked  very  big  and  very  near. 

"  'T  is  like  if  we  went  on  a  little  furder,"  whispered 
Dennis,  "'twould  bring  us  nigher  to  them,  but  I  have  a 
mind  to  risk  a  shot  from  here."  He  was  crouched,  gaz- 
ing at  the  turkeys.  Then  he  carefully  raised  the  musket 
and  thrust  it  out  through  a  fork  of  the  bush  in  front  of 
him.  He  took  a  long,  steady  aim.  Jack  waited,  hardly 
daring  to  breathe,  every  nerve  tensely  braced  to  meet 
the  shock  of  the  discharge. 

Something  must  have  alarmed  the  birds,  for  one 
great  cock  suddenly  raised  his  head  and  looked  sharply 
this  way  and  that,  and  then  they  were  all  standing 
with  their  necks  stretched  high,  looking  intently  about 
them.  Then  suddenly  there  came  the  stunning,  deafen- 
ing report  of  the  musket.  A  cloud  of  pungent  smoke 
hid  everything  for  a  little  while ;  then  it  had  dissolved. 

Could  Jack  believe  his  eyes  ?  One  great  turkey  cock 
was  flapping  and  struggling  upon  the  ground. 


152  JACK   BALLISTEK'S   FOETUNES 

He  leaped  up  with  a  shout  and  ran  out  into  the  clear- 
ing. He  heard  Little  Coffee  shout  behind  him  as  he 
ran  forward  through  the  long,  shaggy  grass,  jumping 
over  the  stumps,  and  he  had  a  vision  of  the  rest  of  the 
turkeys  scattering  with  shrill,  piping  cries  toward  the 
woods — half-flying,  half-running — then  he  was  stand- 
ing over  the  turkey  cock  where  it  lay  upon  the  ground 
in  the  tall,  brown  grass.  It  was  nearly  motionless  when 
he  reached  it,  and  its  half -closed  eyes  were  still  bright 
with  the  life  that  was  just  leaving  them.  There  it  lay, 
and  Jack  looked  down  at  it  in  an  ecstasy.  The  sun 
shone  upon  the  burnished,  metallic  luster  of  its  neck- 
feathers —  purple,  blue,  green.  Its  great  horny  foot 
gave  a  futile,  scratching  struggle,  and  then  it  was  quite 
still. 

Dennis  was  coming  hurrying  forward  at  a  trot,  carry- 
ing his  musket  hanging  at  his  side.  Little  Coffee 
was  capering  around.  Dennis  came  up  to  where  Jack 
stood.  He  hid  whatever  exultation  he  might  have  felt 
under  an  assumed  air  of  indifference.  "  'T  was  a  pretty 
long  shot,"  he  said,  "  and  methought  I  'd  miss  it.  But 
't  was  the  only  chance  I  had." 

As  he  spoke  he  wiped  his  face  with  his  sleeve.  He 
picked  up  the  bird  and  held  it  out  at  arm's  length.  Its 
wings  fell  open  as  he  did  so.  Then  he  dropped  it  again 
heavily  upon  the  ground.  "Well,"  he  said,  "there  's 
fresh  meat  for  Nama,  anvliow." 

"  I  '11  carry  it  home  for  you,  Dennis,"  said  Jack. 

"  You  may  if  you  choose,"  said  Dennis. 

The  shadows  were  growing  longer  and  longer  as  they 
plunged  into  the  woods  again  with  their  faces  turned 
homeward.  Jack  soon  found  his  load  was  very  heavy, 
and  presently  he  was  glad  to  share  it  with  Little  Coffee. 
He  tied  the  feet  of  the  great  bird  together  with  one  of 
his  shoe-strings;  then  he  slung  it  over  a  branch,  he 


'^^. 


'he  picked  up  the  bird  and  held  it  out  at  arm's  length." 


THE   WILD   TUKKEY  153 

taking  one  end  upon  his  shoulder  and  Little  Coffee  the 
other.  Then  again  they  went  onward,  Dennis  leading 
the  way. 

The  sun  had  set  and  the  first  shade  of  twilight  was 
beginning  to  fall  when  they  came  out  again  from  the 
woods  and  in  sight  of  the  Roost.  As  they  came  up  to 
the  row  of  cabins  Kala  came  out  to  meet  them.  "  De 
master  he  came  home  while  ago,"  he  said.  "He  be 
axing  for  you." 

Jack  stood  stock-still.  "What's  that,  Kala?"  said  he. 

"  De  master  he  came  home,"  repeated  Kala.  "  He 
been  axing  for  you." 

Somehow  Jack  could  not  believe  what  he  heard. 
"D'  ye  mean  Mr.  Parker's  come  back?"  he  said. 

"  Hum-hum,"  said  Kala,  nodding  his  head. 


CHAPTER  XXI 


THE   STRUGGLE 


JACK  and  Little  Coffee  had  laid  the  dead  turkey 
down  upon  the  ground.  Without  another  word  he 
ran  away  toward  the  house.  He  heard  voices  as  he  ap- 
proached ;  they  ceased  at  the  sound  of  his  footsteps  as 
he  entered  the  house.  He  found  Mr.  Parker  standing 
in  the  middle  of  the  hall  with  his  hat  upon  his  head ; 
Peggy  Pitcher  stood  leaning  over  the  lean,  rickety  ban- 
ister-rail, half-way  up  the  stairs.  "  There  he  is  now," 
she  said  as  Jack  entered.  "  And  't  is  no  use  to  bluster 
and  swear  at  me  any  more,  I  told  you  't  was  none  of 
my  doings  that  he  went." 

Jack  had  never  before  seen  Mr.  Parker  in  one  of  his 
humors.  He  had  heard  others  about  the  Roost  speak 
of  those  times  when  the  master  would  be  in  one  of  his 
fits  of  temper,  but  he  himself  had  as  yet  never  beheld 
one  of  those  dreadful  moods.  Now  he  saw  that  the 
master's  eyes  were  bloodshot.  Mr.  Parker  had  not  been 
drinking,  but  his  face  was  congested  to  a  purple-red, 
and  the  veins  in  his  neck  and  forehead  stood  out  full 
and  round.  He  turned  a  dull,  heavy,  truculent  look 
upon  Jack  as  he  came  in,  and  Jack,  under  that  heavy 
and  forbidding  glare,  stood  still  and  looked  down  upon 
the  floor. 

"  Come  hither,"  said  Mr.  Parker  at  last,  in  a  gloomy 
voice,  and  at  his  bidding  Jack  advanced  slowly  and  re- 
luctantly.    "  Come  hither,  I  say,"  he  repeated,  as  Jack 


154 


THE   STRUGGLE  155 

hesitated  at  a  little  distance,  and  again  Jack  advanced. 
When  he  had  come  near  enough  Mr.  Parker  reached 
out  and  caught  him  by  the  collar  of  his  coat.  Jack 
made  no  effort  to  resist  him ;  he  stood  perfectly  quiet, 
his  soul  heavy  with  a  dumb  apprehension  as  to  what 
was  about  to  happen  to  him. 

"Mrs.  Pitcher  hath  told  me  that  she  bade  you  not 
to  go  away  from  home,"  said  Mr.  Parker;  "but  that 
in  spite  of  all  she  could  say  you  did  go,  leaviug  your 
work  undone  behind  you.      Well,  then,  I  'II  lay  my 

mark  on  you,  by ,  and  in  such  a  way  that  you  '11 

not  forget  it  soon,  nor  run  away  again  when  you  're 
told  to  stay  at  home." 

He  drew  Jack  across  the  room  as  he  spoke,  and  Jack, 
fearing  to  resist,  yielded  himself  to  be  led  as  the  master 
chose.  It  was  not  until  Mr.  Parker  had  taken  down 
the  heavy  riding-whii?  from  the  wall  that  he  fully 
understood  what  his  master  intended  to  do  to  him. 
His  first  instinct  was  of  defense,  and  as  Mr.  Parker 
raised  his  arm  he  too  reached  up,  hardly  knowing  what 
he  did,  and  caught  the  other  by  the  sleeve,  holding  it 
tightly.  "  Your  honor  ! "  he  cried,  and  he  recognized 
that  his  voice  was  hoarse  and  drv  —  "  vour  honor,  I  'm 
mightily  sorry  for  what  I  've  done,  and  I  promise  you 
I  '11  never  do  the  like  again.  I  '11  never  run  away 
again,  your  honor,  indeed  I  won't !  Pray  don't  strike 
me,  your  honor  !  " 

"  Let  go  my  arm  ! "  cried  Mr.  Parker,  harshly.  "  What 
d'  ye  mean  by  holding  my  sleeve  like  that  ?  "  He  strove 
to  break  away  from  Jack's  hold,  but  Jack  clung  to  him 
more  closely  than  ever. 

" I  promise  you," he  cried  panting,  "I promise  you — 
I  '11  never  go  away  again.  I  promise  you  after  this  I  '11 
do  just  as  you  would  have  me,  but — but — don't  beat 
me.  I  'm  mightily  sorry  for  what  I've  done — I  am — 
but  don't  trv  to  beat  me ! 


156  JACK   BALLISTER'S   FOETUNES 

"  Let  go  my  arm,  I  tell  you ! "  cried  Mr.  Parker,  and 
he  tried  to  wrench  himself  loose.  But  still  Jack  held 
him  tightly.  Then  Jack  felt  that  ]Mi".  Parker  had  let  go 
his  grasp  upon  his  collar  and  was  trying  to  pluck  away 
the  hold  of  the  fingers  that  clutched  the  sleeve.  "  Let 
me  go,  I  tell  you ! "  he  cried  out  again.  "  Are  you  mad 
to  handle  me  thus? — What  do  you  mean? — Ai'e  you 
mad?  —  Let  me  go!"  The  next  moment  he  had  torn  his 
arm  free.  He  struck  at  Jack  with  the  whip,  but  Jack 
clung  to  him  so  closely  that  the  blow  was  without  ef- 
fect, and  before  he  could  strike  him  again  Jack  had 
caught  him  once  more. 

He  heard  the  rasping  sound  of  ripping  cloth,  and  he 
knew  that  he  must  have  torn  some  part  of  his  master's 
dress.  "  You  sha'  n't  beat  me  ! "  he  gasped.  "  You 
sha'  n't  beat  me  !  "  Mr.  Parker  tried  to  thrust  him  away 
with  his  elbow,  but  he  clung  all  the  more  tightly.  As 
Mr.  Parker  pushed  him  partly  away,  he  could  see  the 
other's  handsome  face  flaming  purple-red,  but  in  the  vio- 
lence and  excitement  of  the  struggle  he  only  half  knew 
what  he  was  doing.  He  could  feel  the  struggling  move- 
ments of  his  master's  body  as  he  clutched  him,  and 
lie  was  conscious  of  the  soft  linen  of  his  shirt  and  the 
fine  smell  of  his  j)erson.  Then  he  felt  that  some  one 
had  caught  him  b}^  the  collar,  and,  in  the  turmoil  of 
his  excitement,  he  knew  that  it  was  Mrs.  Pitcher  who 
held  him,  and  he  heard  her  voice  crjang  in  his  ear: 
"  Let  go,  Jack !  Are  you  clean  gone  crazy  f  What 
are  vou  doing  ?     Let  go,  I  sav." 

"  No,  I  w^on't ! "  cried  Jack,  hoarsely,  "  he  sha'  n't  beat 
me  ! "  He  hardlv  knew  what  he  was  doing ;  his  onlv 
instinct  was  of  self-defense.  In  his  struggles  he  felt 
himself  strike  against  the  edge  of  the  table,  and  then 
against  a  chair.  Then  he  stumbled  against  another 
chair,  overturning  it  with  a  loud  clatter.  At  the  same 
instant,  Mr.  Parker  tripped  over  it  and  fell,  rolling 


THE   STRUGGLE  157 

over  and  over  on  the  floor.  In  tlie  fall  his  hat  and  wig 
were  knocked  off,  but  he  still  held  the  whip  clutched 
in  his  hand.  Jack  stood  panting,  and  Peggy  Pitcher 
still  had  hold  of  him  by  the  collar  of  his  coat.  In 
the  sudden  cessation  of  the  tumult  of  the  struggle, 
Jack  could  hear  the  blood  surging  with  a  ceaselessly 
beating  "hum — hum — hum"  in  his  ears. 

Mr.  Parker  lay  still  for  a  second  or  two  as  though 
partly  stunned  by  his  fall,  then  he  scrambled  up  from 
the  floor.  He  picked  up  his  wig  and  put  it  on  his  head. 
He  did  not  seem  to  see  his  hat  where  it  had  fallen 
under  the  table.  He  put  his  hand  to  his  head  and 
stood  so  for  a  second  or  two.  Then  he  flung  the 
riding-whip  down  upon  the  table  and  walked  to  the 
door  without  looking  at  Jack.  Dennis,  who  was  on  his 
way  to  his  cabin,  had  heard  the  sound  of  the  struggle 
and  loud  voices,  the  scuffling  of  feet  upon  the  bare 
floor,  the  clattering  overturning  of  the  chair.  He  had 
stopped,  and  now  stood  with  the  musket  over  his 
shoulder,  Little  Coffee  carrying  the  turkey.  He  was 
still  so  standing  when  Mr.  Parker  came  to  the  door. 
"  Dennis  ! "  cried  the  master  hoarsely,  "  bring  three  or 
four  men  and  come  over  here  directly."  Then,  without 
waiting  for  a  reply,  he  came  back  to  the  table  and 
poured  out  a  glass  of  rum  for  himself,  the  bottle  clink- 
ing and  tinkling  against  the  edge  of  the  glass  with  the 
nervous  trembling  of  his  hand. 

Jack  heard  Mr.  Parker's  words  to  Dennis,  and  then 
he  realized  for  the  first  time  how  utterly  and  helplessly 
powerless  he  was,  and  into  what  a  j^it  of  trouble  he  had 
fallen.  His  heart  sank  away  within  him  and  he  stood 
without  moving,  numl)  with  despair,  the  rapid  pulse- 
beats  still  thumping  and  surging  in  his  ears.  "Your 
honor — youi*  honor,"  he  said  huskily,  "I — I  did  n't 
know  what  I  was  doing — I  did  n't.  I  did  n't  mean  to 
tear  your  dress.     Pardon  me,  your  honor,  I  did  n't 


158  JACK   BALLISTER'S   FORTUNES 

mean  it ! "  He  almost  choked,  swallowing  upon  a  hard 
lump  in  his  throat.  Mr.  Parker  paid  not  the  slightest 
attention  to  him.  "  Won't  you  listen  to  me,  your  honor?" 
he  cried  despairingly.  He  heard  the  approaching  foot- 
steps of  Dennis  and  those  whom  he  had  brought  with 
him,  and  the  sound  lent  a  still  heavier  agony  of  despair 
to  his  apprehension.  "I  did  n't  mean  to  do  it,  your 
honor,"  he  cried,  with  a  final  effort  to  placate  that  im- 
placable one,  and  then  the  next  moment  Dennis  and 
three  negroes  came  into  the  house. 

"I  want  you  to  take  that  boy,"  said  Mr.  Parker, 
pointing  to  Jack,  "  and  lock  him  up  in  the  cellar  for 
the  night.  I  '11  flay  you  alive  to-morrow,"  said  he,  turn- 
ing with  a  flash  upon  Jack  and  grinding  his  white 
teeth  together.  "  I  '11  spare  you  for  to-night,  but  to- 
morrow I  '11  murder  you,  I  will,"  and  then  he  turned 
and  went  out  of  the  room. 

"  What  have  you  been  doing.  Jack  ?  "  said  Dennis. 

"Oh!  I  don't  know,  Dennis,"  Jack  panted — almost 
sobbing.  "He  was  going  to  beat  me  and  I  tried  to 
keep  him  from  doing  it,  that  was  all." 

"  He  fought  with  his  honor  like  a  wild-cat,"  said  Mrs. 
Pitcher,  "and  he  threw  him  down  over  a  chair  onto 
the  floor." 

"  Whj  did  you  do  that,  Jack  ? "  said  Dennis.  "  You 
must  have  been  clean  gone  crazy  to  do  such  a  thing  as 
that."  Jack  tried  to  reply,  but  he  could  not  do  so  for 
the  choking  in  his  throat.  "  Well,"  said  Dennis,  "  there 
is  nothing  left  now  but  to  do  as  his  honor  said.  You 
had  better  come  along  now,  and  not  make  any  more 
trouble." 

"  Oh,  I  'm  not  going  to  make  any  more  trouble,"  said 
Jack,  hoarsely. 

Dennis  and  Mrs.  Pitcher  stood  looking  at  him. 
"  Well,"  said  Dennis,  as  though  giving  himself  a  shake, 
"  't  is  a  bad,  bad  piece  of  business.    I  can't  do  anything 


THE   STRUGGLE  159 

to  lielp  you.  Come  along,  and  I  '11  make  it  as  easy  for 
you  as  I  can." 

"I  '11  send  you  down  something  good  to  eat,"  said 
Mrs.  Pitcher. 

"  I  don't  want  anything  to  eat,"  said  Jack,  despair- 
ingly. 

The  cellar  was  a  vault-like  dungeon  of  a  place,  built 
solidly  of  brick,  with  only  a  narrow,  barred  window  and 
the  door  from  the  kitchen  opening  into  it.  Indeed,  it 
had  once  been  used  as  a  place  of  confinement  or  reten- 
tion for  the  slaves  in  olden  days,  and  there  was  a  pair 
of  rusty  unused  shackles  with  chains  yet  hanging  from 
a  staple  in  the  wall.  Jack  could  not  tell  how  long  it 
was  he  sat  there,  in  the  cold  dampness  of  the  jAace, 
thinking  and  thinking,  and  yet  with  a  mind  inert  and 
dull  as  to  any  j^recision  of  consciousness.  He  could 
hear  distant  sounds  through  the  house,  and  now  and 
then  the  echo  of  footsteps  passing  overhead.  All 
around  him  was  a  dead  and  muffled  silence  of  dark- 
ness. It  must  have  been  nightfall  when  Mrs.  Pitcher 
came,  bringing  some  food  wi-apped  uj)  in  a  napkin. 
"  Here,"  she  said,  "  you  eat  this,  and  you  '11  feel  the 
better  for  it."  Jack  shook  his  head.  "  Well,  I  '11  put  it 
down  here,  and  maybe  you  '11  eat  it  after  a  while.  And 
then  she  went  away,  leaving  him  once  more  to  the 
darkness  and  the  silence. 

By  little  and  little  the  sounds  of  moving  in  the  house 
above  were  stilled.  Jack's  ears  hummed  and  tingled  and 
buzzed,  and  he  sat  there  thinking,  thinking,  thinking, 
and  yet  not  thinking  with  any  set  purpose  of  thought. 
What  was  to  happen  to  him  f  Oh !  if  he  had  not  re- 
sisted his  master !  Why  had  he  resisted  I  If  there  were 
only  some  way  in  which  he  could  set  himself  right  with 
that  master !  If  he  could  only  beg  and  obtain  some  par- 
don !  And  then  he  realized  with  despair  that  there  was 
no  way  in  which  he  could  undo  what  he  had  done ;  that 


160  JACK   BALLISTER'S   FORTUNES 

there  was  no  possible  pardon  for  him.  He  saw  as  in  a 
mental  picture  his  master  rolling  over  on  the  floor,  and 
he  knew  that  he  would  never  be  forgiven  such  an  in- 
sult. Now  and  then  he  thrilled  almost  as  with  an 
agony — if  he  could  only  escape  the  inevitable  to-mor- 
row !  But,  no !  There  was  nothing  for  him  to  do  but 
to  sit  there  all  night  waiting  for  the  day.  Oh !  if  he 
could  only  stop  thinking  about  it.  He  might  have 
sat  there  thinking  thus  for  an  hour;  he  might  have 
sat  there  ten  hours ;  there  was  no  sequence  of  thought 
by  which  he  might  measure  the  length  or  the  short- 
ness of  time  —  nothing  but  a  level  stretch  of  dull  and 
numb  despair.  Then,  suddenly,  he  felt  that  he  was 
parched  and  dry  with  thirst.  He  wondered  if  Peggy 
Pitcher  had  brought  him  anything  to  drink.  He  reached 
over,  fumbling  in  the  darkness,  and  opened  the  cloth 
in  winch  was  wrapped  the  food  she  had  brought  him. 
There  was  a  bottle  with  something  in  it.  It  was  rum 
and  water,  and  Jack,  as  he  drank  a  long  draught  of 
it,  felt  an  almost  animal  gratitude  in  the  quenching 
of  his  parching  thirst.  Presently  he  began  eating  some 
of  the  food,  and  before  he  knew  it  he  had  made  a 
hearty  meal. 

For  a  while  the  eating  distracted  his  mind,  and  his 
troubles  lay  big  and  dumb,  brooding  within  him ;  but 
after  he  had  finished  the  food  and  sat  again  in  the  hum- 
ming silence,  it  all  came  back  to  him  with  a  renewed 
and  overwhelming  keenness.  He  bowed  his  head  over 
on  his  knees.  Recollections  of  the  warm,  bright  day 
that  had  just  passed — a  recollection  of  the  dead  turkey 
as  it  lay  in  the  grass — came  vividly  to  him.  The  trivial 
recollection  seemed  to  make  the  terror  of  that  which 
afterward  happened  all  the  more  tragic  by  contrast. 
He  felt  the  hot  drops  well  bigger  and  bigger  under  his 
burning  eyelids,  and  then  one  fell  upon  his  hand  and 
trickled  slowly  down  across  it. 


CHAPTER  XXII 


THE   ESCAPE 


IT  had  not  seemed  to  Jack  that  he  had  been  asleep, 
but  vision-like  recollections  of  the  happenings  of 
the  day  skimmed  ceaselessly  in  a  panorama-like  vision 
through  his  tired  brain.  Now  he  saw  the  hot  stretch 
of  clearing  as  he  had  seen  it  that  afternoon — the  quiv- 
ering, pulsing  air,  the  slanting  sun,  the  distant  river,  the 
blue  further  shore.  Again  and  again  he  thought  he 
struggled  with  his  master.  Sometimes  he  dreamed 
that  the  next  day  had  come,  and  that  his  master  had 
forgiven  him.  But  through  all  these  vision-like  dreams 
there  ever  loomed,  big  and  terrible  in  the  background 
of  his  half-consciousness,  the  unknown  fate  that  awaited 
him  in  the  morning,  and  he  would  awaken  to  find  those 
dreams  dissolve  into  a  black  and  terrible  reality  in 
which  there  was  no  spark  of  hope. 

Suddenly  he  was  startled  from  one  of  these  half -wak- 
ing visions  by  the  sound  of  footsteps  passing  overhead, 
and  then  by  the  noise  of  a  key  rattling  furtively  in  the 
lock.  It  sounded  loud  in  the  death-like  silence.  Then 
the  door  at  the  head  of  the  cellar-steps  opened,  and  the 
yellow  light  of  a  candle  slid  slanting  down  along  the 
wall.  Jack  looked  with  straining  eyes,  and  then  he 
saw  that  it  was  Peggy  Pitcher  who  was  coming.  She 
was  in  her  stocking  feet,  and  wore  a  loose  wrapper  and 
a  mob-cap  tied  under  her  chin.  "  Why,  Mrs.  Pitcher," 
whispered  Jack,  tremulously,  "is  that  you?" 


11  161 


162  JACK  BALLISTEK'S   FOETUNES 

"  Yes,"  she  said,  "  't  is  I,  but  you  be  quiet." 

"  What  time  of  night  is  it  I "  Jack  whispered. 

"Why,  't  is  early  yet — not  more  than  nine  o'clock, 
I  reckon." 

"Is  that  all?  "said  Jack. 

She  did  not  reply,  but  set  the  candle  down  upon  the 
floor  and  stood  for  a  while  regarding  Jack,  her  arms 
akimbo.  "Well,"  she  said  at  last,  speaking  angrily, 
"  't  is  all  your  own  fault  that  jow  're  here,  and  't  is  none 
of  my  business.  I  told  you  not  to  go  away  from  home 
with  Dennis,  but  you  did  go  in  spite  of  all,  and  now 
you  see  what 's  come  of  it.  By  rights  I  should  let  you 
alone;  but  no,  here  I  be,"  and  she  tossed  her  head. 
"  Well,"  she  continued,  "  I  'm  not  going  to  stand  by  and 
see  you  beat  to  death,  and  that 's  all  there  be  of  it." 

Jack's  very  heartstrings  quivered  at  her  latter  words. 
"  What  do  you  mean,  Mrs.  Pitcher  ? "  he  said,  hoiking 
dumbly  that  he  had  somehow  misunderstood. 

"  Why,"  said  she,  "  I  mean  that  his  honor  's  in  that 
state  of  mind  I  would  n't  trust  him  not  to  have  you 
whipped  to  pieces  out  of  pure  deviltry.  I  never  saw 
him  as  mad  as  this  before,  and  I  don't  know  what 's  got 
into  him.  He 's  been  away  from  home  somewhere,  and 
something 's  gone  wi'ong,  and  the  very  black  e\il  's  got 
into  him.  I  've  been  talking  to  him  ever  since  he  sent 
you  here,  but  he  won't  listen  to  anything.  I  've  seen 
him  in  bad  humors,  but  I  never  saw  him  in  as  black  a 
humor  as  he  's  in  to-night.  If  he  sets  on  you  to-mor- 
row he  '11  never  stop  till  he  finishes  you,  and  that  I  do 
believe." 

Jack  could  not  speak.  He  sat  looking  at  her  in  the 
light  of  the  candle. 

"  Well,"  Mrs.  Pitcher  burst  out  at  last,  "  I  've  thought 
it  all  over  and  I  've  made  up  my  mind.  I  dare  say  I  'm 
a  fool  for  my  jDains,  but  I  'm  going  to  let  you  get  away. 
For  the  long  and  short  of  it  is  that  I  sha'  n't  stay  by  and 


THE   ESCAPE  163 

see  ye  beat  to  pieces  like  lie  beat  one  of  the  blackies  last 
summer.  After  Dennis  had  locked  yon  up,  his  honor 
must  needs  send  for  him  and  ask  where  yon  was,  and 
if  yon  was  safe ;  and  then  he  must  needs  have  the  key 
of  the  cellar  in  his  own  pockets.  He  was  dead  tired, 
and  so  went  to  bed  a  while  ago,  and  I  've  jnst  contrived 
to  steal  the  keys  out  of  his  pockets.  Now  I  'm  going  to 
let  you  go,  I  am." 

"  Oh,  Peggy ! "  cried  Jack,  hoarsely.  His  mouth 
twitched  and  writhed,  and  it  was  all  he  could  do  to 
keep  from  breaking  down.  "  But  how  about  you  ?  "  he 
said,  wiping  his  hand  across  his  eyes. 

"  Never  you  mind  about  me,"  said  Mrs.  Pitcher,  an- 
grily. "  You  mind  your  own  business,  and  I  '11  mind  my 
business.  I  ain't  going  to  see  you  whipped  to  death  — 
that  's  all  there  is  about  it.  So  you  just  mind  jour 
business  and  I  '11  mind  mine." 

"But  where  shall  I  go  after  you  let  me  out,  Mrs. 
Pitcher?" 

"Why,"  said  she,  "that  you'll  have  to  settle  for 
yourself.  'T  is  as  much  as  I  can  do  to  let  you  go.  All 
I  know  is,  you  must  get  away  from  here.  Now  go,  and 
don't  you  lag  about  any  longer.  If  his  honor  should 
chance  to  wake  and  find  his  keys  gone,  and  suspicioned 
you  'd  got  away,  't  would  be  a  worse  lookout  for  you 
than  ever,  not  to  speak  of  myself." 

Then  Jack  realized  that  he  was  free  to  escape.  "  I  '11 
— I  '11  never  forget  what  you  've  done  for  me,"  said  he 
in  a  choking  voice,  "  as  long  as  ever  I  live." 

"  There,  you  go  now,"  she  said,  and  she  pushed  him 
roughly  toward  the  cellar  stairway.  "  As  for  me,  don't 
you  think  anything  about  me.  Jack ;  I  '11  do  well  enough 
for  a  poor  wicked  creature,  and  even  if  his  honor  does 
find  out  that 't  was  I  let  you  go,  why,  he  won't  murder 
me.  But  then  he  won't  find  out,"  she  added.  "  So,  now 
you  go." 


164  JACK   BALLISTER'S   FORTUNES 

"  Good-by,  Mrs.  Pitcher,"  said  Jack ;  "  won't  you  say 
good-by  ?  " 

"  No,  I  won't,"  said  she.  "  You  go,  and  don't  you  lose 
any  more  time  about  it." 

.  But  it  was  not  until  he  was  fairly  out  into  the  starlit 
night  that  he  realized  that  he  had  really  escaped.  He 
ran  some  little  distance  away  before  he  stopped.  Then 
he  stood  looking  about  him.  Where  was  he  to  go  now  I 
Where  was  he  to  escape  to  !  He  stood  still  thinking. 
He  wondered  if  Dennis  would  help  him.  Then  without 
any  especial  object  he  crept  around  back  of  the  group 
of  huts.  He  could  see  that  there  was  a  faint  light  in 
Dennis's  cabin,  but  he  was  afraid  to  approach  closer. 
Some  one  was  singing  in  the  darkness  beyond,  and  he 
knew  that  it  was  Little  Coffee  chanting  in  his  high- 
pitched  voice.  He  crept  slowly  and  cautiously  toward 
the  sound  of  the  singing,  and  presently  he  could  distin- 
guish the  outline  of  Little  Coffee's  form  against  the  sky. 
He  was  sitting  perched  upon  the  fence.  "  Coffee ! " 
whispered  Jack,  "Little  Coffee!"  But  Little  Coffee 
did  not  hear  him  and  continued  his  barbaric  chant, 
which  seemed  to  consist  chiefly  of  a  repetition  of  the 
words,  "  White  man  came  to  de  green  tree,  black  man, 
he  go  'way."  "  Little  Coffee !  "  whispered  Jack  again, 
and  then  instantly  the  singing  ceased. 

There  was  a  moment  or  two  of  listening  silence. 
"Who  da?"  said  Little  Coffee  presently,  and  Jack 
could  see  that  he  had  turned  his  face  toward  him  in 
the  darkness. 

"  Hush ! "  whispered  Jack,  "  't  is  I,  Jack." 

"Who!— Jack?— Dat  you,  boy?"  said  Little  Coffee. 

"  Yes,"  answered  Jack. 

Little  Coffee  jumped  down  instantly  from  the  fence 
and  came  in  the  darkness  toward  Jack's  voice.  "  How  you 
git  away?"  said  he  to  Jack,  "dey  say  Massa  Dennis 
lock  you  up  in  de  cellar.    How  you  git  out,  boy?" 


THE   ESCAPE  165 

"  Never  miud  that,"  said  Jack ;  "  't  is  enough  that  I 
got  out,  and  here  I  am.  Come  out  here,  Coffee,  away 
from  the  cabins ;  somebody  '11  hear  us." 

He  led  the  way  down  toward  the  edge  of  the  bluff, 
and  Little  Coffee  followed  him  for  a  while  in  an  amazed 
silence.  "  What  you  go  do  now,  boy  ?  "  he  asked  after 
a  little  while. 

Jack  did  not  answer  immediately.  "  I  'm  going  to 
run  away,"  he  said  at  last. 

"  You  no  run  away,"  said  Little  Coffee,  incredulously. 
Jack  did  not  reply.  "How  you  going  to  run  away, 
anyhow  I "  asked  Little  Coffee. 

"  I  am  going  to  go  off  in  the  boat,"  said  Jack. 

''  You  no  run  away,  boy,"  said  Little  Coffee  again. 

"  Yes,  I  will,  too,"  said  Jack;  and  then  he  added,  almost 
despairingly,  "I've  got  to  run  away.  Little  Coffee.  I 
wonder  if  the  oars  are  down  by  the  dug-out  ? " 

"  Yes,  'im  be,"  said  Little  Coffee ;  "  I  see  Kala  prop  de 
oars  up  ag'in'  de  bank  when  he  come  in  from  de  pot- 
nets  !     Where  you  run  away  to,  anyhow  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  I  don't  know,"  said  Jack ;  and  then,  as  the  thought 
came  to  him,  he  said :  "  First  of  all,  I  'm  going  over  the 
river  to  Bullock's  Landing.  I  don't  know  where  I  '11 
go  then — most  likely  down  to  North  Carolina.  That 's 
where  all  the  runaways  go.  I  '11  try  to  get  to  England 
from  there." 

Little  Coffee  looked  at  him  in  the  darkness  for  a  while. 
"  I  be  no  more  'fraid  to  run  away  dan  you  be  'fraid  to 
run  away,"  said  he  at  last. 

"  Would  n't  you  be  afraid  I "  Jack  cried  out  eagerly ; 
"  then  you  shall  go  along  with  me  if  you  choose.  "  He 
grasped  at  the  chance  of  a  companion  in  his  escape; 
for  now,  that  every  step  brought  him  more  nearly  face 
to  face  with  what  he  had  to  do,  he  began  to  see  what  a 
thing  it  was  to  undertake.  It  seemed  to  him  that  if  he 
had  someone  with  him  it  would  make  it  easier  for  him. 


166  JACK   BALLISTER'S   FORTUNES 

The  two  stood  looking  out  across  the  water.  From 
the  edge  of  the  bluff  bank  where  they  stood  the  water 
stretched  away,  vast  and  mysterious,  into  the  distance. 
The  rude  dug-out  canoe  in  which  Kala  had  rowed  over 
to  the  nets  was  lying  drawn  up  on  the  shore.  Jack 
could  see  its  shapeless  form  below  in  the  darkness.  He 
descended  the  steps  to  the  beach,  followed  by  Little 
Coffee.  The  oars  still  stood  leaning  against  the  bank 
where  Kala  had  left  them.  Jack  gathered  them  up  and 
carried  them  down  to  the  dug-out.  Some  water  had 
leaked  through  the  cracks  into  the  boat,  and  before  he 
pushed  it  off  he  baled  it  out  with  the  gourd  dipper. 
Little  Coffee  stood  looking  silently  at  the  preparations 
he  was  making.  "You  going  to  run  away  for  sure, 
boy  ?  "  he  said  at  last. 

"  Why,  don't  you  see  I  am  ? "  said  Jack. 

"  Den  you  berry  foolish,"  said  Little  Coffee.  "  I  no 
run  away  with  you,  boy." 

"  What 's  that  I "  said  Jack,  standing  up  abruptly  and 
facing  Little  Coffee.  "What's  that?  Why,  you  just 
now  said  you  'd  run  away  with  me  if  I  went." 

"  I  no  say  dat,"  said  Little  Coffee,  "  I  say  maybe  I  run 
away."  And  then  he  burst  out  indignantly,  "  Guess 
you  tink  me  fool,  boy ! " 

"  And  so  you  'd  let  me  go  alone,  would  you  ? "  said 
Jack  bitterly.  Little  Coffee  made  no  reply.  "Well,  then, 
help  me  push  the  boat  off,  anyhow,"  Jack  said. 

Little  Coffee  sprang  eagerly  enough  to  lend  him  a 
hand,  and  as  the  two  pushed  the  clumsy  boat  off  into  the 
water.  Jack  stepped  into  it.  He  placed  the  oars  care- 
fully in  the  rowlocks,  and  then  spat  upon  his  hands. 
All  around  him  was  the  night  and  the  water.  The 
bluff  bank  loomed  big  against  the  sky.  He  could  see 
Coffee's  dim  form  standing  upon  the  shore,  but  still  he 
sat  resting  without  pulling  the  boat  off.  "  Won't  you  go 
with  me,  Little  Coffee  ? "  he  said,  making  a  last  appeal. 


THE   ESCAPE  167 

"  Um ! — um ! "  Little  Coffee  grunted  in  negative. 

The  water  lapped  and  gurgled  against  the  side  of  the 
boat,  and  the  current  drifted  it  slowly  around  against 
the  shore.  Jack  still  hesitated  and  lingered.  For  one 
moment  of  failing  courage  he  told  himself  that  he  would 
go  back  and  face  what  he  would  have  to  face  the  next 
day,  and  then,  with  a  rush  of  despair,  he  recognized 
how  impossible  it  would  be  to  face  it.  "  I  believe  you 
be  'fraid  to  run  'way,  after  all,"  said  Little  Coffee  from 
where  he  stood. 

The  jar  of  the  words  roused  Jack  to  action.  "  Grood- 
by,  Little  Coffee,"  said  he  hoarsely,  and  then  he  dipped 
the  oars  into  the  water  and  pulled  off  from  the  shore 
into  the  night. 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

A   MEETING 

BULLOCK'S  LANDING,  the  settlemeut  of  which 
Jack  had  spoken,  was  a  little  cluster  of  poor 
frame  houses  ou  the  other  side  of  the  wide  river  from 
the  Eoost.  You  could  see  it  easily  enough  from  the 
high  bluff  bank,  but  not  what  sort  or  condition  of 
houses  they  were.  But  there  were  people  living  there, 
for  now  and  then  boats  stopped  at  the  little  straggling 
landing.  Jack's  first  plan  was  to  cross  the  river  to  this 
place.  From  there  he  thought  he  might  be  able  to  find 
some  road  through  the  woods  to  North  Carolina.  Or 
if  he  were  not  pursued  he  might  find  a  chance  to  work 
a  passage  down  to  Norfolk,  and  thence,  perhaps,  to 
England.  Anyhow,  the  first  thing  was  to  get  away 
from  the  Eoost,  and  Bullock's  Landing  was  the  nearest 
habitable  place.  He  remembered  now  that  a  sloop 
had  been  lying  there  for  two  days.  If  it  had  not  left, 
maybe  he  could  work  a  passage  in  it  down  to  Norfolk. 

He  rowed  steadily  away  into  the  river,  and  in  a  little 
while  the  shore  he  had  left  behind  him  disappeared  into 
the  darkness  of  night.  All  around  him  was  the  lapping, 
splashing  water  of  the  river.  He  guided  his  course  by 
the  stars,  still  pulling  away  steadily.  His  mind  drifted 
aimlessly  as  he  rowed,  touching  a  dozen  different  points 
of  thought  that  had  nothing  to  do  with  his  present 
trouble.  Now  and  then  he  wondered  what  he  would  do 
when  he  reached  the  further  shore;   but  generally  he 

168 


A  MEETING  169 

let  his  thoughts  drift  as  they  chose.  He  planned  in- 
definitely to  himself  that,  when  he  got  to  the  further 
shore,  where,  no  doubt,  he  would  find  somebody  awake, 
he  would,  in  the  morning,  go  aboard  of  the  sloop  and 
ask  the  master  or  captain  to  let  him  work  his  passage 
to  Norfolk.  Or,  if  the  captain  of  the  sloop  should  seem 
to  show  any  signs  of  dealing  dishonestly  with  him,  and 
if  there  appeared  to  be  any  danger  of  his  being  kid- 
napped again,  he  would  try  to  get  away  into  the  inte- 
rior of  the  country.  He  could  very  easily  beg  his  way 
from  house  to  house  until  he  reached  North  Carolina. 
There  was  a  splash  in  the  water,  very  loud  in  the 
stillness  —  it  sounded  like  a  fish.  It  startled  Jack  for 
a  moment,  and  he  lay  on  his  oars,  listening  breathlessly. 
Presently  he  began  rowing  again.  He  did  not  doubt 
that  he  could  easily  escape,  if  need  be,  into  North  Caro- 
lina. Plenty  of  people  had  escaped  thus  from  the  plan- 
tations, and  he  was  sure  he  could  do  the  same. 

So  his  scattered  thoughts  drifted  as  he  continued 
rowing  with  almost  instinctive  regularity.  Every  now 
and  then  he  stopped  to  rest  himself  for  a  little  while, 
and  then  the  breathless  silence  would  brood  over  him, 
broken  only  by  the  ceaseless  lap  and  gurgle  and  splash 
of  the  water  all  around  him. 

It  was  an  hour  or  more  before  he  came  to  the  further 
shore  of  the  river.  At  the  point  which  he  reached 
there  was  nothing  to  be  seen  but  the  black  pine  forest 
coming  down  close  to  the  water's  edge,  and  two  stunted 
cypress  trees  that  stood  out  in  the  stream.  In  the 
darkness  of  the  night  he  could  not  tell  whether  the 
settlement  to  which  he  was  directing  his  course  lay 
above  or  below  the  point  he  had  reached.  The  woods 
brooded  dark  and  still.  Millions  of  fireflies  spangled  its 
blackness  with  quick  pulsing  sparkles  of  light,  and  a 
multitudinous  whisper  and  murmur  of  woodland  life 
breathed  out  from  the  dark,  mysterious  depths.     He 


170  JACK   BALLISTER's   FOETUNES 

unshipped  his  oars,  rattling  loudly  in  the  dark  stillness, 
and  stood  up  in  the  boat,  looking  first  up  the  stream 
and  then  down,  then  up  again.  He  thought  he  saw  a 
dim  outline  that  looked  like  a  group  of  houses  and  the 
sloop  far  away  up  the  river,  and  then  he  sat  down,  re- 
placed the  oars,  and  began  rowing  up  the  shore. 

It  was  the  sloop  he  had  seen.  Grradually  it  came  out 
more  and  more  defined  from  the  obscurity.  Then  he 
could  see  the  outline  of  the  long,  narrow  landing. 
There  were  signs  of  life  about  the  sloop,  and  up  on 
the  shore.  The  door  of  one  of  the  houses  stood  open, 
and  there  was  a  light  within.  By  and  by  he  could  hear 
the  noise  of  laughing  and  singing  and  of  boisterous 
voices  coming  from  it.  As  he  came  nearer  and  nearer 
to  the  landing  some  one  suddenly  hailed  him  through 
the  night.  "Ahoy !  Who 's  that  ?  Who  be  ye  ?  "  He  did 
not  reply,  but  rowed  up  under  the  wharf  and  lashed 
the  dug-out  to  one  of  the  piles.  Three  or  four  men 
came  over  across  the  wharf  from  the  sloop,  one  of 
them  carrying  a  lantern.  They  stood  looking  down 
at  him  as  he  made  the  boat  fast.  Then  he  climbed 
up  to  the  wharf.  The  man  with  the  lantern  thrust  it 
close  to  his  face,  and  almost  instantly  a  voice,  very 
familiar  to  his  ears,  called  out:  "Why,  Jack,  is  that 
you  ?    What  are  you  doing  here  I " 

Jack  looked  up  and,  in  the  dim  light  of  the  lantern, 
saw  who  it  was.  It  was  Christian  Dred.  "  Why,  Dred," 
he  cried  out,  "  is  that  you  ?     What  are  you  doing  here  ?" 

"That  's  what  I  axed  you,"  said  Dred.  "AYhat  be 
you  doing  here  at  this  time  of  night." 

"  I  '11  teU  you,"  said  Jack.  "  I  've  been  treated  badly, 
and  I  'm  running  away  from  my  master,  Dred.  He 
used  me  mightily  ill,  and  I  had  either  to  run  away  or  to 
be  whipped  to-morrow.  But,  0  Dred,  I  'm  glad  to  find 
you  here,  for  I  did  n't  know  what  I  was  to  do  without  a 
friend  to  help  me."    For  suddenly  the  joy  and  relief  of 


A   MEETING  171 

having  tlius  imexpectedly  found  his  friend  began  to 
grow  so  big  in  Jack's  soul  that  he  could  hardly  save 
himself  from  breaking  down  before  them  all.  Every 
instant  the  wonder  of  it  grew  bigger  and  bigger  within 
him — the  wonder  that  he  should  so  have  met  Dred  face 
to  face  in  the  boundless  spaces  of  the  new  world — thus 
at  midnight  in  the  wild  depths  of  the  Virginias.  Then 
he  heard  Dred  asking,  "  "Wlio  was  your  master  ? " 

"My  master  ? — His  name  was  Richard  Parker,"  Jack 
answered. 

"  But,  0  Dred ;  how  is  it  you  were  to  be  here  ?  'T  is 
the  wonderfullest  thing  I  ever  heard  tell  of." 

Dred  burst  out  laughing,  "  I  '11  tell  ye  that  by  and 
by,"  he  said.  A  little  crowd  had  gathered  about  him 
by  this  time,  and  more  were  coming  over  from  the 
sloop,  aboard  of  which  there  seemed  to  be  a  great 
many  men.  They  crowded  closely  about,  listening 
curiously  to  what  was  said.  "But  Richard  Parker!'* 
said  Dred.  "Was  then  Mr.  Richard  Parker  your 
master?  Why,  he  was  here  this  very  arternoon.  He 
and  the  captain  are  great  friends.  Why,  the  captain 
came  up  here  just  to  see  Mr.  Richard  Parker,  and 
that 's  why  I  be  here,  too." 

Jack,  as  he  looked  about  him  at  the  faces  dim  in  the 
lantern-light,  wondered  dumbly  who  the  captain  was, 
but  he  was  too  bemldered  and  confused  to  think  with 
any  sharpness  or  keenness  of  intelligence. 

"  What  are  you  going  to  do  now  ? "  asked  Dred. 

"I  do  n't  know,"  said  Jack.  "I  thought  maybe  I 
might  work  a  passage  to  Norfolk  in  this  sloop,  for  I  'd 
seen  it  yesterday  from  t'  other  side  of  the  river  and 
remembered  it  when  I  ran  away.  If  I  could  n't  do  that 
I  was  going  to  try  to  get  down  into  North  Carolina, 
afoot.     What  is  this  sloop,  Dred  f " 

Dred  took  Jack  by  the  arm.  "  Never  mind  that,  now," 
he  said,  "  you  come  along  with  me.    I  '11  be  back  again 


172  JACK  BALLISTEE'S  FOETUNES 

in  a  trifle  or  so,  Miller,"  he  said  to  the  man  who  carried 
the  lantern.  Then  he  pushed  his  way  through  the 
group  that  had  surrounded  them,  and  led  Jack  along 
the  landing  toward  the  shore.  Suddenly  as  they  walked 
along  together  he  spoke.  "  Look  'ee,"  he  said,  "  did 
you  ever  hear  of  Blackbeard  the  Pirate?" 

"  Yes,"  said  Jack,  "  I  have,  and  that  not  a  few  times." 

"  Well,  then,"  said  Dred,  "  I  'm  going  to  take  you  to 
him  now.  He  's  the  captain,  and  if  ye  wants  to  get 
away  from  your  master,  the  only  thing  I  can  do  for  to 
help  you  is  to  get  the  captain  to  take  ye  along  of  us. 
Arter  you  left  the  Arundel  I  disarted  and  ran  away 
to  North  Caroliny  ag'in,  and  so  here  I  be  now.  You  '11 
have  to  join  with  us  if  you  want  to  get  away,  and 
that 's  all  I  can  do  for  you.     Will  you  do  that  ?  " 

"  Indeed  I  will,"  cried  Jack.  "  I  'm  glad  enough  to 
get  away  to  be  willing  to  go  anywhere.  And  then,  do 
you  see,  you  '11  be  along,  Dred." 

Dred  was  still  holding  him  by  the  arm,  and  he  gave 
it  a  squeeze.  "  Well  then,  we  '11  just  go  up  to  Bullock's 
and  have  a  talk  with  the  captain  about  it,"  he  said. 

They  had  left  the  landing  by  now  and  were  ascend- 
ing a  little  rise  of  ground  to  the  house,  the  door  of 
which  stood  open,  and  from  which  was  coming  the 
sound  of  loud  voices,  and  now  and  then  a  burst  of 
laughter.  Dred,  still  holding  Jack  by  the  arm,  led  him 
up  to  the  door  of  the  house  and  into  it.  It  seemed  to 
be  a  sort  of  store,  or  drinking-house — a  wide,  barrack, 
shed-like  place.  There  was  a  kind  of  bench  or  counter, 
some  shelves  seemingly  empty,  and  two  or  three  bar- 
rels, apparently  of  spirits.  It  was  reeking  hot,  and  full 
of  men  who  were  drinking  aud  talking  with  loud  voices. 
Some  of  the  men  had  the  appearance  of  being  planters 
or  settlers  ;  others  looked  like  sailors. 

Dred,  still  holding  Jack  by  the  arm,  looked  around 
for  a  brief  moment,  then  he  elbowed  his  way  through 


A   MEETING  173 

the  crowd  toward  the  other  end  of  the  room,  ahnost 
dragging  Jack  with  him.  "  Who  have  you  got  there, 
Dred  ?" — "Who's  that,  Dredf"  was  asked  by  a  dozen 
voices  as  Dred  pushed  his  way  up  the  length  of  the 
room.  Dred  did  not  reply;  he  led  Jack  up  to  a  man 
who  sat  upon  a  barrel,  swinging  one  leg  and  holding 
a  glass  of  spirits  in  the  hand  that  rested  upon  his  knee. 

Jack  knew  the  man  as  soon  as  he  saw  him.  It  was 
the  stranger  who  had  twice  come  to  the  Roost.  He 
was  still  dressed  in  the  sort  of  sailor  dress  in  which 
Jack  had  last  seen  him,  and  his  beard  was  plaited  into 
three  plaits  that  hung  down  and  over  his  breast.  Jack 
saw  that  he  had  been  drinking,  perhaps  a  great  deal.  He 
did  not  move,  except  to  raise  his  eyes  sullenly  as  Dred 
led  Jack  up  to  him.  "  Caj)tain,"  said  Dred,  "this  young 
man  's  just  come  ashore  down  at  the  wharf.  I  know  him 
very  well,  seeing  as  how  he  came  over  from  England  with 
me  and  that  we  was,  so  to  say,  messmates.  He  's  run 
away  from  his  master,  and  says  he  'd  like  to  'list  with 
us.    He  's  a  good,  able-bodied  lad,  and  very  willing  too." 

"  Don't  you  come  from  Mr.  Parker's  I "  said  the  cap- 
tain, in  his  hoarse,  husky  voice. 

"  Yes,  I  do,"  said  Jack.  "  He  was  going  to  have  me 
whipped,  and  I  ran  away  from  him." 

"I  thought  I  knew  your  face,"  said  the  pirate. 
"  And  so  you  're  running  away,  are  you  ?  And  he  was 
going  to  beat  you,  was  he  ?  Well,  I  dare  say  you  de- 
served it.    What  were  you  doing  to  have  him  beat  you !" 

The  strange,  shaggy  crowd  pressed  up  close  around 
them,  and  Jack  gazed  about  him  at  the  half-drunken 
faces.  "  I  was  doing  naught  to  be  whipped  for,"  he 
said.  "  I  went  away  with  the  overseer,  and  while  I  was 
gone  Mr.  Parker  came  back.  He  tried  to  whip  me  with 
a  riding-whip,  and  while  I  was  keeping  him  off  he  fell 
down.  He  was  going  to  have  me  beaten  for  that  to- 
morrow, and  so  I  ran  away." 


174  JACK  BALLISTER'S   FORTUNES 

The  pirate  captain  stared  at  him  for  a  little  while  of 
gloomy  silence,  shaking  his  head  slowly  from  side  to 
side  the  while.  "Well,  then,"  he  said,  "Mr.  Parker 
and  I  are  very  good  friends,  and  I  don't  choose  to  help 
his  servants  to  run  away  from  him.  So  I  '11  just  make 
across  to  his  place  to-morrow,  and  drop  you  on  our 
way  up  the  river." 

Jack  saw  that  the  pirate  was  not  sober,  and  he 
turned  to  look  to  Dred.  Dred  had  let  go  his  hold  upon 
Jack's  arm ;  now  he  leaned  over  toward  the  pirate  cap- 
tain, and  began  whispering  in  his  ear,  the  other  listen- 
ing gloomily  and  sullenly,  and  Jack  watching  them 
both  with  an  anxious  intentness.  "  Well,  I  can't  help 
that,"  the  pirate  said  aloud  to  something  that  Dred 
urged ;  and  he  raised  his  elbow  and  tried  to  push  the 
other  away.  Dred  leaned  forward  to  whisper  some  last 
words  as  the  other  thrust  him  off.  "I  wish  you 
would  n't  come  here  troubling  me  this  way,  Chris  Dred," 
he  said.  "  I  don't  care  anything  about  the  feUow,  he 
won't  be  any  use  to  me.  Well,  then,  take  him  aboard  if 
you  choose,  and  I  '11  think  about  it  to-morrow  morning. 
Now  you  go  back  to  the  sloop.  You  should  n't  ha'  left 
it,  as  't  is." 

Again  Dred  took  Jack  by  the  arm.  "Come  along. 
Jack,"  he  said,  "'t  is  all  right  now." 

"  But  he  said  he  was  going  to  send  me  back,"  said 
Jack,  as  they  made  their  way  back  through  the  room, 
and  toward  the  open  air. 

"  Oh,  that  's  all  very  well ;  he  won't  send  you  back"; 
you  just  set  your  mind  at  rest  on  that.  I  know  him  as 
well  as  I  know  my  own  hand.'  He  's  give  in  so  far  now, 
he  won't  send  you  back."  Then,  as  they  came  out  of 
doors  once  more  —  "  Lord ! "  drawing  a  deep  breath, 
"  but  it  do  feel  good  to  get  a  breath  of  fresh  air." 

"  Tell  me,"  said  Jack,  as  they  walked  down  to  the 
wharf  together,  "was  that  Blackbeard?" 


HE    LED    JACK    UP    TO    THE    MAN    WHO    SAT    UPON    A    BARREL." 


A  MEETING  175 

"  Ay,"  said  Dred,  "  that  's  what  they  call  him  here- 
abouts." 

"  Why,  then,"  said  Jack,  "  I  've  seen  him  before.  He 
was  over  to  the  Roost  twice  in  the  last  two  weeks, 
but  I  never  thought  't  was  Blackbeard." 

When,  after  a  deep  and  profound  sleep,  Jack  awoke 
almost  at  the  dawn  of  the  following  day,  he  looked 
about  him,  at  first  not  knowing  just  where  he  was.  The 
hold  of  the  sloop  was  full  of  the  forms  of  sleeping  men 
huddled  into  groups  and  clusters.  The  air  was  heavy 
and  oppressive.  He  sat  for  a  while  staring  about  him, 
then  suddenly  he  remembered  everything  —  his  sur- 
roundings, and  how  he  had  fallen  asleep  there  the  night 
before.  He  roused  himself  and,  stepping  cautiously 
over  the  sleeping  forms  without  disturbing  them,  climbed 
up  the  ladder  to  the  deck   above. 

A  thick  fog  had  arisen  during  the  night,  and  every- 
thing was  shrouded  in  an  impenetrable  mist  that  drifted 
in  great  clouds  across  the  deck.  The  ropes  and  sheets 
were  wet  and  fuzzy  with  the  moisture  that  had  settled 
ujDon  them,  and  the  sails  looked  heavy  and  sodden  with 
dampness,  the  decks  and  the  two  boats  hanging  from 
the  davits  wet  and  shining  with  moisture.  Two  or  three 
of  the  crew  were  upon  watch  in  the  early  morning. 
One  of  them,  his  hair  and  woolen  cap  white  with  parti- 
cles of  the  drifting  mist,  lay  stretched  upon  the  top  of 
the  galley  deck-house,  a  carbine  lying  beside  him.  He 
was  smoking  his  pipe,  a  faint,  blue  thread  of  smoke  ris- 
ing into  the  mist-laden  air.  He  raised  himself  upon  his 
elbow  and  stared  at  Jack  as  he  came  up  on  deck.  The 
cook,  who  was  also  awake,  was  busy  in  the  galley,  and 
every  now  and  then  the  clatter  of  pans  sounded  loud  in 
the  damp  silence.  A  cloud  of  smoke  from  the  newly- 
lighted  galley  fire  rolled  in  great  volume  out  of  the 
stovepipe  and  drifted  slowly  across  the  deck  and  through 
the  ratlines.     In  the  brightening  light  Jack  could  see 


176  JACK  BALLISTER'S   FORTUNES 

more  of  his  surroundings.  There  was  a  large  cannon 
in  the  bow  of  the  sloop,  partly  covered  with  a  tarpau- 
lin, and  there  were  two  carronades  amidships.  The 
sloop  still  lay  lashed  to  the  end  of  the  wharf.  The  shore 
was  hidden  in  the  fog,  which  opened  now  and  then,  just 
showing  a  dim,  fleeting,  misty  outline  which,  the  next 
moment,  would  be  again  lost  in  the  drifting  cloud. 

A  figure,  dim  and  white  in  the  distance,  stood  looking 
over  the  stern  down  into  the  water.  It  was  very  familiar 
to  Jack,  and  then  presently  it  turned  toward  him  and 
he  saw  it  was  Christian  Dred.  As  soon  as  Dred  saw 
Jack  he  came  directly  forward  to  where  he  was.  "  Well," 
he  said,  catching  him  by  the  arm  and  shaking  it,  "  here 
we  be  together  again,  hey  ? " 

Jack  laughed,  and  then  he  asked,  "  Are  you  sure  he 
—  Captain  Teach  —  won't  send  me  back  to  Mr.  Parker 
again  ? " 

"  Why,  no,"  said  Dred,  "  in  course  he  won't.  That 
was  only  his  talk  last  night  while  he  was  in  his  drink. 
He  don't  care  nothing  for  Mr.  Parker,  and  he  won't 
bother  to  send  you  back  again.  Just  you  rest  your 
mind  easy  on  that.  Jack.  If  I  'd  thought  there  was 
any  chance  of  his  sending  you  back  there,  I  would  n't 
'a'  kept  you  aboard  here,  last  night,  and  you  may  be 
sure  of  that.  But 't  is  mightily  queer,  Jack,  to  think 
that  Mr.  Parker  was  only  with  us  yesterday  art'noon, 
and  here  you  comes  and  finds  your  way  aboard  in  the 
night.     What  did  you  come  over  here  for,  anyhow  1 " 

As  Jack  stood,  giving  Dred  a  brief  account  of  his 
adventures  and  of  his  plans  of  escape,  the  signs  of  awak- 
ening life  began  gradually  to  show  aboard  the  sloop. 
The  men  were  coming  up  from  below,  and  after  a  while 
the  captain  himself  came  up  on  deck,  from  the  cabin  aft. 
He  stood  for  a  while,  his  head  just  showing  above  the 
companion-way,  looking  about  him  with  eyes  heavy 
and  bleared  with  sleep.     Then  he  came  slowly  up  on 


A  MEETING  177 

deck.  He  beckoned  to  one  of  the  men  — a  negro — who 
ran  in  his  bare  feet  and  hauled  up  a  pail  of  water  from 
alongside.  Jack,  from  a  distance,  watched  the  pirate 
captain  as  he  washed  his  face  in  the  water,  puffing  and 
splashing  and  spluttering,  rubbing  it  into  his  shaggy 
hair.  Then  he  fished  out  a  yellow  and  greasy  comb  from 
his  pocket,  and,  with  a  great  deal  of  care,  parted  his 
hair  in  the  middle  and  smoothed  it  down  on  either  side. 
Then  he  began  plaiting  the  two  locks  at  his  temples, 
looking  about  him  all  the  while  with  his  heavy  lower- 
ing gaze.  Presently  his  eyes  fell  upon  Jack.  "  Come 
here,"  he  said,  without  stopping  his  toilet,  and  Jack 
came  forward  and  stood  before  him.  "  A¥hat  's  your 
name?"  he  asked.  He  had  finished  plaiting  the  first 
long,  thin  lock,  and  was  winding  a  bit  of  string 
around  it. 

"  Jack  BalUster." 

"  You  waited  on  Mr.  Dick  Parker,  did  n't  you  ?  " 

"  Yes,  sir,"  said  Jack. 

"  Well,  d'  ye  think  you  could  wait  on  a  gentle- 
woman ? " 

"  I  don't  know,"  said  Jack ;  "  I  believe  I  could." 

"  Well,  I  expect  a  lady  aboard  here,  maybe  to-night, 
and  it  may  be  I  '11  call  on  you  to  wait  upon  her  now 
and  then.     D'  ye  think  ye  could  ?  " 

"  I  believe  I  could,"  said  Jack. 

"  Very  well,  that  will  do  now.     You  can  go." 

The  sound  of  hissing  and  sizzling  was  coming  from 
the  galley,  and  as  Jack  went  forward  again,  the  air  was 
full  of  the  smell  of  cooking  pork. 

During  the  early  part  of  the  morning  a  rude  cart 
drawn  by  two  oxen  came  out  along  the  wharf.  It  was 
driven  by  a  negro,  and  two  men  with  carbines  over 
their  shoulders  marched  beside  it.  There  were  two 
barrels  full  of  fresh  water  in  the  cart,  and  a  half  dozen 
of  the  crew  presently  rolled  them  aboard  the  sloop. 

12 


178  JACK   BALLISTER'S   FOETUNES 

A  breeze  had  come  up  as  the  suu  rose  higher,  and  in 
au  hour  or  more — it  was  about  the  middle  of  the  morn- 
ing— the  fog  began  to  drift  awayin  bright  yellow  clouds, 
through  which  the  disk  of  the  sun  shone  thin  and 
watery.  Now  and  then  the  outline  of  the  houses  on  the 
shore  stood  out  faint  and  dim;  they  looked  very  dif- 
ferent to  Jack  in  the  wide  light  of  day.  Then  the  sun 
burst  out  in  a  sudden  bright,  hot  gleam.  The  pirate 
captain  had  gone  below,  but  Dred  and  the  sailing- 
master.  Hands,  were  on  deck.  The  boatswain's  whistle 
trilled  shrilly,  and  the  great  patched,  dingy  mainsail, 
flapping  and  bellying  sluggishly,  rose  slowly  with  the 
yo-hoing  of  the  sailors  and  the  creaking  of  block  and 
tackle.  The  lines  were  cast  loose,  Dred  standing  direct- 
ing the  men  as  they  pushed  the  sloop  off  with  the  sweeps. 
Some  of  the  settlers  had  come  down  to  the  shore,  and 
stood  watching.  "  All  away  ! "  called  Dred,  and  Hands 
spun  the  wheel  around.  The  sloop  fell  slowly  off,  the  sail 
filling  out  smooth  and  round.  The  men  on  the  wharf 
shouted  an  adieu,  and  two  or  three  of  the  men  aboard 
the  sloop  replied,  and  then  they  were  out  in  the  wide 
expanse  of  the  river. 


CHAPTER  XXiy 


AT   MARLBOROUGH 


SOME  time  a  little  after  noon  the  slooj)  sailed  into 
the  wide  mouth  of  a  lesser  stream  that  opened  into 
the  broader  waters  of  the  James. 

The  pirate  captain  lounged  ujDon  the  rail  not  far  from 
Dred,  who  held  the  wheel,  stooping  as  he  looked  out 
ahead  under  the  boom  of  the  main-sail.  The  gunner, 
a  man  named  Morton,  joined  the  pirate  captain,  with 
whom  he  stood  talking  for  a  while  in  low  tones,  Dred 
every  now  and  then  turning  to  speak  to  them.  The 
sloop,  close  hauled  to  the  wind,  drifted  slowly  into 
the  tributary  river.  "  I  reckon  they  're  going  to  bring 
her  up  back  o'  the  p'int  yonder,"  said  one  of  the  pirates 
to  Jack,  where  nobody  '11  be  like  to  see  us  till  we  gets 
our  young  lady  aboard. 

"Is  n't  that  a  house  over  on  the  other  side  of  the 
river  1 "  asked  Jack.  "  Those  look  like  chimneys  over 
the  top  of  the  trees." 

"  Why,  yes,"  said  the  other,  "  that 's  a  place  they  call 
Marlborough.     They  say 't  is  a  grand,  big,  fine  house." 

"  Marlborough ! "  said  Jack,  "  and  so  't  is  a  big,  fine 
house,  for  I  've  been  there  myself  and  have  seen  it ;  't  is 
as  grand  a  house  as  ever  you  would  wish  to  see." 

"  Do  you,  then,  know  it  ?  "  said  the  other.  "  Well,  't  is 
there  the  captain  's  going  to-night  to  bring  off  a  young 
lady  he  's  going  to  fetch  down  to  North  Caroliny." 

Jack  listened  to  the  man,  not  for  a  moment  supposing 


179 


180  JACK   BALLISTER'S   FORTUNES 

anytliing  else  than  that  the  young  lady  of  whom  the 
ph'ate  spoke  was  to  be  a  willing  passenger.  He  only 
wondered  vaguely  why  she  should  choose  to  go  with 
Blackbeard. 

The  sloop  lay  in  the  creek  all  that  afternoon.  Dred 
was  in  the  cabin  nearly  all  the  time,  and  Jack  saw  almost 
nothing  of  him.  Meantime  the  crew  occupied  them- 
selves variously.  Six  of  them  near  Jack  were  playing 
cards  intently ;  sometimes  in  silence,  sometimes  break- 
ing out  into  loud  bursts  of  talking  and  swearing.  Jack 
lay  upon  the  forecastle  hatch  watching  them.  Every 
now  and  then  the  trum-trumming  of  Blackbeard's 
guitar  sounded  from  the  cabin.  As  the  dealer  dealt 
the  cards  around,  one  of  the  pirates  snapped  his  fin- 
gers in  time  to  the  strumming  of  the  music.  "I  tell 
you  what 't  is,  messmates,"  he  said,  "  the  captain  be  the 
masterest  hand  at  the  guitar  that  ever  I  heard  in  all 
my  life." 

"  To  be  sure,"  said  another,  "  he  plays  well  enough, 
but  Jem  Willoughby  down  at  Ocracock  can  give  him 
points  how  to  play." 

"  Did  ye  ever  hear  Jem  Willoughby  play  the  fan- 
dango?" said  one  of  a  half-dozen  men  who  lay  at  a 
little  distance  under  the  shade  of  the  rail. 

"  Never  mind  Jem  Willoughby  and  the  fandango 
now,"  said  the  dealer,  as  he  took  up  his  hand  of  cards 
and,  wetting  his  thumb,  ran  them  over;  "you  play 
your  game,  messmates,  and  never  mind  Jem  Wil- 
loughby." 

Again  they  played  with  silent  intentness.  Mean- 
time a  negro  was  dancing  in  the  forecastle  below. 
From  above,  Jack  could  see  his  dim  form  obscurely 
in  the  darker  depths,  and,  as  he  watched  the  hands  of 
cards  that  the  others  played,  he  could  not  but  hearken 
to  the  shuffling  and  pat  of  the  dancing  feet  sounding 
in  rhythmical  time  to  the  clapping  of  hands.     Then, 


AT   MAELBOROUGH  181 

after  awhile,  there  was  a  sudden  burst  of  talking 
from  the  card-players,  and  the  dealer  reached  out  and 
raked  in  the  half  score  of  silver  pieces  that  lay  upon 
the  deck-house. 

The  afternoon  slowly  waned ;  the  sun  set,  and  a  dim 
gray  of  twilight  seemed  to  rise  from  the  swampy  lagoon. 
Then  the  dusk  shaded  darker  and  darker  to  the  dim- 
ness of  early  nightfall.  Suddenly  the  pirate  captain 
came  up  on  deck,  followed  by  Hands  and  Dred.  Dred 
spoke  to  the  boatswain,  who  came  forward  directly  and 
ordered  the  crews  of  the  three  boats  to  lower  them  and 
to  bring  them  alongside.  Then  there  followed  a  bustle 
of  preparation.  Presently,  through  the  confusion,  Jack 
saw  that  the  men  were  arming  themselves.  They  were 
going  down  below  into  the  cabin  and  were  coming  up 
again,  each  with  a  pistol  or  a  brace  of  pistols  and  a  cut- 
lass. Finally  Morton,  the  gunner,  came  up  on  deck, 
and  soon  after  the  crews  began  scrambling  over  the 
rail  and  into  the  three  boats  with  a  good  deal  of  noise 
and  disorder.  It  was  after  dark  when  they  finally 
pushed  off  from  the  sloop.  The  pirate  captain  sat  in 
the  stern  of  the  yawl-boat.  Hands  took  command  of  one 
of  the  others,  and  Dred  and  Morton  went  off  in  the 
third.  Jack  stood  watching  them  pull  away  into  the 
darkness,  the  regular  chug-chug-chug  of  the  oars  in  the 
rowlocks  sounding  fainter  and  fainter  as  the  dim  forms 
of  the  boats  were  lost  in  the  obscurity  of  the  distance. 

Everything  seemed  strangely  silent  after  the  boats 
were  gone.  Only  five  men  besides  Jack  remained  aboard 
the  sloop,  and  the  solitude  of  the  darkness  that  seemed 
to  envelop  them  all  around  about  was  only  emphasized 
by  the  tide  that  gurgled  and  lapped  alongside,  "  Who 
is  it  they  're  going  to  fetch  from  Marlborough  ?  "  Jack 
asked  of  one  of  the  men  who  stood  beside  him  leaning 
over  the  rail,  smoking  his  pipe  and  looking  after  his 
companions. 


182  JACK   BALLISTER'S   FORTUNES 

"  Who  1 "  said  he,  without  looking  around.  "  Why, 
they  're  going  to  fetch  a  young  lady  " ;  and  that  was  all 
Jack  knew  until  she  was  actually  aboard  the  pirate 
sloop. 

Colonel  Parker  was  away  from  home.  He  had  gone 
to  Williamsburgh,  but  there  was  some  company  at 
Marlborough  —  Mr.  Cartwright  (a  cousin  of  Madam 
Parker's),  his  wife,  and  the  Reverend  Jonathan  Jones, 
minister  of  Marlborough  parish  church  —  a  rather 
sleek,  round-faced  man,  dressed  in  sober  clerical  black, 
with  a  very  white  wig  and  a  smooth,  clean,  starched  band 
of  fine,  semi-transparent  linen.  Madam  Parker  and  her 
guests  sat  at  a  game  of  ruff.  Miss  Eleanor  Parker  was 
trying  a  piece  of  music  at  the  spinet,  playing  smoothly 
but  with  an  effort  at  certain  points,  and  then  stumbling 
at  the  more  difficult  passages,  to  which  she  sometimes 
returned,  repeating  them.  The  four  played  their  game 
out  without  speaking,  and  then,  as  the  last  trick  was 
taken,  released  the  restraint  of  attentive  silence  to  a 
sudden  return  of  ease.  '"T  was  two  by  honors  this 
time,  I  think,"  said  Mr.  Cartwright  to  Madam  Parker, 
who  was  his  partner. 

"  Yes,"  she  said,  "  I  held  the  queen  and  ace  myself, 
and  5^ou  the  knave." 

"  Then  that  makes  four  points  for  us,"  said  Mr.  Cart- 
wright, as  he  marked  them. 

"'T  is  strange  how  ill  the  hands  run  with  me  to- 
night," said  the  reverend  gentleman ;  "  that  makes  the 
third  hand  running  without  a  single  court  card."  He 
opened  his  snuff-box  and  offered  it  to  Madam  Parker, 
and  then  to  the  others,  taking  finally  a  profound  and 
vigorous  pinch  himself,  and  then  shutting  the  lid  of 
the  box  with  a  snap.  Madam  Parker  and  her  partner 
smiled  with  the  amused  good-nature  of  winners  at  the. 
game. 


AT   MARLBOEOUGH  183 

"  Upon  my  word,  Eleanor,"  said  Madam  Parker,  "  I 
wish  you  would  not  play  so  loud;  my  nerves  are  all 
of  a  jingle  to  day ;  as  't  is,  I  can't  fix  my  mind  on  the 
game."  The  young  lady  made  no  answer ;  she  did  not 
even  turn  round,  but  she  continued  her  playing  in  a 
more  subdued  key. 

"  Was  not  that  Lady  Betty  Arkwright  in  your  pew 
last  Sunday,  Madam?"  asked  the  rector  of  Madam 
Parker,  as  he  shufi9.ed  the  cards. 

"  Yes,  't  was,"  said  the  lady.  "  She  came  up  from 
Williamsburgh  last  week,  and  Colonel  Parker  went 
back  with  her  yesterday." 

"  I  thought  I  could  not  be  mistook,"  said  the  Reverend 
Jonathan,  "  and  that 't  was  indeed  her.  She  hath  a  fine 
air  of  good  breeding,  hath  she  not.  Madam  ?  " 

"  Why,  yes,  she  is  good  enough,"  said  Madam  Parker, 
"but  has  nothing  like  the  fine  breeding  of  her  sister, 
Lady  Mayhurst." 

The  reverend  gentleman  did  not  reply  except  by  a 
deferential  smile  and  half  bow.  He  had  picked  up  his 
hand  and  had  begun  to  run  it  over  swiftly,  and  then 
another  round  of  the  game  began  in  silence. 

Presently  the  young  lady  ceased  playing  and  began 
turning  over  the  leaves  of  her  music-book. 

It  was  in  this  pause  of  silence  that  there  came  sud- 
denly a  loud  and  violent  knock  upon  the  outside  hall 
door.  Madam  Parker  started.  "  Why,  who  can  that 
be  1 "  she  said,  folding  her  hand  of  cards  nervously  and 
holding  it  face  downward,  and  looking  around  the  table 
at  the  others. 

The  players  all  sat  listening,  and  Miss  Eleanor  partly 
turned  around  upon  her  music-stool.  It  was  very  late 
for  visitors,  and  the  negroes  had  closed  the  house  some 
time  since.  "  It  sounded  like  some  one  who  may  have 
come  in  a  haste,"  said  Mr.  Cartwright.  "Maybe  Colonel 
Parker  has  sent  a  message." 


184  JACK  BALLISTEE'S   FOKTUNES 

"  I  don't  know  why  he  should  send  a  message,"  said 
Madam  Parker.  "  I  hope  he  has  not  been  ailing  again. 
But  that  may  hardly  be,  for  he  has  not  had  a  single 
touch  of  the  gout  for  over  three  months,  and  no  sign  of 
its  coming  back  again." 

They  listened  as  the  negro  crossed  the  hall  to  answer 
the  knock.  Then  came  the  sound  of  the  rattling  of  the 
chain  and  the  turning  of  the  key.  Then  the  door  was 
opened.  As  the  card-players  listened  they  heard  the 
sound  of  a  man's  voice  and  then  the  reply  of  the  negro. 
Then  once  more  the  man's  voice  and  then  the  negro's 
again — this  time  speaking,  as  it  seemed,  rather  eagerly. 
Then  there  came  a  sharp  exclamation  and  then  a  sound 
as  of  some  one  pushed  violently  against  the  door — then 
silence.  There  was  something  unusual,  something  very 
alarming  in  the  noise.  "  What  was  that  1 "  said  Madam 
Parker,  sharplj^,  and  there  was  a  tone  of  keen  anxiety  in 
her  voice. 

As  in  answer,  there  was  the  shuffling  sound  of  many 
feet  crossing  the  hall.  Mr.  Cartwright  rose  from  his  seat, 
and  the  Reverend  Jonathan  Jones  turned  half-way 
round  upon  his  chair.  The  next  instant  three  or  four  men 
with  blackened  faces  were  in  the  room.  The  foremost 
man  wore  the  loose  petticoat  trousers  of  a  sailor,  a  satin 
waistcoat,  and  a  coat  and  hat  trimmed  with  gold  braid. 
His  face  was  tied  up  in  a  handkerchief,  but  they  could 
see  that  he  had  gold  earrings  in  his  ears.  "Don't 
you  be  frightened,"  said  he  in  a  hoarse,  husky  voice, 
"  there  '11  no  harm  happen  to  you  if  you  only  be  quiet 
and  make  no  noise.  But  I  won't  have  any  noise,  d'  ye 
hear  ?  " 

The  three  ladies  sat  staring  with  wide-eyed,  breathless 
terror  at  the  speaker.  His  companions  stood  silently  at 
the  doorway,  each  armed  with  a  brace  of  pistols.  There 
was  something  singularly  dreadful  in  their  silence,  their 
black  faces,  their  lips  red  by  contrast  with  their  sooty 


AT   MAELBOEOUGH  185 

countenances,  the  whites  of  their  eyes,  which  every  now 
and  then  blinked  into  darkness  and  then  were  white 
again. 

"  What  d'  ye  want  1 "  said  Mr.  Cartwright.  "Who  are 
you  ?  What  do  you  want  1 "  He  had  grown  very  pale, 
but  his  voice  was  strong  and  full,  without  a  tremor  in  it. 

The  stranger,  though  he  was  armed,  did  not  carry  any 
weapon  in  his  hand.  He  came  out  a  little  further  into 
the  room.  "  Ye  see  I  have  nothing  to  make  you  afraid 
of  me ! "  he  said,  opening  the  palms  of  his  hands.  "  So 
you  may  see  I  mean  you  no  harm.  But  harkee !  there 's 
to  be  no  noise  —  no  screaming,  d'  ye  understand — no 
calling  for  help.  So  long  as  you  keep  still  no  harm 
shall  be  done  to  any  of  ye  —  man  or  woman," 

"  You  villain !  "  cried  out  Mr.  Cartwi'ight,  with  rising 
choler.  "  What  do  you  mean  by  coming  here  this  way, 
breaking  into  Coloner  Parker's  house  and  blustering 
and  threatening  ?  Do  you  know  where  you  are  ?  "  He 
pushed  back  the  chair  from  which  he  had  risen  and 
looked  around  the  room  as  though  seeking  for  some 
weapon. 

"Come,  come,  sir,"  said  the  other  sharply,  and  he 
clapped  his  hand  to  the  butt  of  one  of  his  pistols, 
"  don't  you  make  any  trouble  for  yourself,  sir.  I  say 
there  '11  be  nobody  harmed  if  you  don't  make  any  trou- 
ble for  yourself.  But  if  you  do,  I  tell  you  plain  it  '11 
be  the  worse  for  you.  I  've  got  a  score  of  men  out- 
side, and  you  can't  do  anything  at  all,  and  if  you  make 
any  trouble  you  '11  be  shot,  with  no  good  to  come  of  it. 
I  '11  tell  you  what  we  came  for  —  but  first  of  all  I  want 
you  to  understand  plainly  that  no  harm  is  intended  to 
the  young  lady  and  that  no  harm  shall  happen  to  her. 
And  now  I  '11  tell  you  what  we  have  come  for.  Young 
Mistress  Parker  yonder  must  go  along  with  us. 

The  words  were  hardly  out  of  his  mouth  when  Madam 
Parker  started  up  out  of  her  chair  with  a  loud  and  violent 


186  JACK  BALLISTEK'S   FORTUNES 

scream.  Then  she  fell  back  again,  catching  at  the  table, 
overturning  one  of  the  candles,  and  scattering  the  cards 
on  the  floor  in  a  litter.  The  other  ladies  screamed  as 
in  instant  echo,  and  shriek  upon  shriek  rang  violently 
through  the  house.  Miss  Eleanor  Parker  had  run  to 
her  mother,  buiying  her  face  in  Madam  Parker's  lap. 
"  You  villain  ! "  roared  Mr.  Cartwright,  and  as  he  spoke 
he  snatched  up  the  heavy  candlestick  that  had  been 
overturned,  and  threw  it  with  all  his  might  at  the  head 
of  the  pirate.  Blackbeard  ducked,  and  the  candlestick 
whirled  past  his  head,  striking  with  a  crash  against  the 
wall  beyond.  "  What  d'  ye  mean  ?  "  roared  he,  as  Mr. 
Cartwright  grasped  at  the  other  candlestick ;  "  don't  you 
touch  that  candlestick  !  Ha  !  would  you  ? "  The  next 
instant  he  had  flung  himself  upon  the  gentleman,  clutch- 
ing him  around  the  body.  Mr.  Cartwright  struck  at  his 
assailant  again  and  again,  trying  to  free  himself.  For 
one  moment  he  had  almost  wrenched  himself  loose.  The 
men  at  the  door  ran  around  to  their  leader's  aid.  A  chair 
was  overturned  with  a  crash,  and  the  next  moment  the 
two  had  stumbled  over  it  and  fallen,  and  had  rolled  un- 
der the  table. 

Mr.  Jones,  with  a  face  ghastly  white  and  eyes  strain- 
ing with  terror,  thrust  away  his  chair  and  rose,  draw- 
ing back  from  the  two  as  they  struggled  and  kicked 
upon  the  floor  beneath  the  table ;  and  still  the  ladies 
screamed  piercingly,  shriek  upon  shriek.  "  Would 
you  ? "  snarled  the  pirate  captain,  almost  breathlessly, 
under  the  table  —  "  Would  you  !  Here  —  Morton  — 
Dred  —  the  devil 's  choking  me !  Ach !  let  go  there !  ^ 
The  men  who  had  run  to  his  aid  strove  to  drag  the 
two  apart,  and  a  dozen  or  more,  all  with  faces  black- 
ened, came  running  into  the  room  just  as  they  were 
separated.  The  pirate  captain  scrambled  to  his  feet 
disheveled  and  furious.  Before  he  raised  himself  he 
tied  up  his  face  in  the  handkerchief  again.     Then  he 


AT   MAKLBOEOUGH  187 

stood  up,  feeling  at  his  throat  and  glaring  around  him. 
Mr.  Cartwright  lay  upon  the  ground,  held  down  by  two 
or  three  men.  His  lip  had  been  cut  in  the  struggle, 
and  was  bleeding.  His  breath  came  thick  and  hoarse, 
and  his  face  was  strained  and  knotted  with  fury. 
Every  now  and  then  he  made  a  futile  effort  to  wrench 
his  arm  loose. 

"  I  don't  know  what  you  all  mean,  anyhow,"  said  the 
pirate  captain,  "  squalling  and  fighting  like  that.  By 
Zounds  !  —  to  Mr.  Cartwright,  as  he  lay  upon  the  floor 
—  "I  believe  you  've  broke  ray  Adam's  apple  —  I  do. 
I  tell  you  " —  said  he  to  Madam  Parker,  who,  white  and 
haggard,  and  shrunk  together  with  terror,  sat  looking 
up  at  him  — "  I  tell  you,  and  I  tell  you  again,  that  I 
don't  mean  any  harm  to  you  or  to  the  young  lady. 
She  's  got  to  go  along  with  me,  and  that 's  all.  I  tell 
you  I  '11  take  good  care  of  her,  and  she  '11  be  in  the  care 
of  a  woman  who  knows  how  to  look  after  her;  and  just 
as  soon  as  his  honor  the  colonel  chooses  to  pay  for 
her  coming  back,  then  she  '11  come.  I  've  got  a  good 
safe  boat  down  here  at  the  shore,  and  no  harm  '11  come 
to  her.  She  '11  only  be  gone  for  a  month  or  so,  and 
then  she  '11  be  fetched  back  safe  and  sound.  Now,  if 
she  wants  to  carry  any  change  of  her  clothes  along 
with  her  to  wear,  she  'd  better  get  'em  together.  D'  ye 
understand  me,  Madam  f  " 

Madam  Parker,  with  her  daughter's  face  buried  in 
her  lap,  still  sat  looking  up  at  the  pirate  captain.  Her 
lips  moved  once  or  twice,  and  then  she  whispered 
breathlessly,  "  Yes  —  I  understand." 

"  What  d'  ye  say,  Madam  ?     I  don't  hear  ye." 

"I  understand,"  she  repeated  a  little  louder,  as  he 
leaned  forward  across  the  table  to  hear  her. 

"  Why,  then.  Madam,"  said  he,  "  I  'm  glad  you  do ; 
for  I  want  the  young  mistress  to  be  as  comfortable  as 
she  can,  and  if  you  don't  get  something  for  her  to  wear 


188  JACK   BALLISTER'S   FORTUNES 

and  make  her  comfortable,  I  've  got  to  take  her  off 
without.  Now,  Madam,  will  you  get  some  clothes  to- 
gether ?  Maybe  you  '11  seud  one  of  your  black  women 
to  get  them." 

Madam  Parker  sat  gazing  at  him  without  moving; 
the  pirate  captain  stood  looking  at  her.  "Wliat  's 
the  matter  with  her,  anyhow  ? "  said  he.  One  of  the 
men  stooped  forward  and  looked  into  her  face.  "  Why, 
captain,"  said  he,  "  the  lady  's  dazed  like ;  she  don't 
know  what  you  're  saying.  Don't  you  see  she  don't 
understand  a  word  you  say  ?  " 

The  captain  looked  round  and  his  eyes  fell  upon 
Mrs.  Cartwi-ight.  "D'  ye  think  ye  could  get  some 
change  of  clothes  for  the  young  lady,  some  clothes  to 
take  away  with  her,  mistress  f "  said  he.  "  She  can't  go 
away  from  home  for  a  month  or  so  without  a  change 
of  clothes  to  wear.     You  can  see  that  for  yourself." 

"  Shall  I  go,  Edward  ? "  said  Mrs.  Cartwright. 

Mr.  Cartwright  groaned.  "  You  '11  have  to  go,  Polly," 
he  said;  "there  's  nothing  else  to  do.  But,  oh,  you 
villains,  mark  my  words  !  You  '11  hang  for  this,  every 
mother's  son  of  you ! " 

"  Why,  I  like  your  spirit,  Mr.  Tobacco-Planter,"  said 
the  pirate  captain ;  "  and  maybe  you  '11  hang  us,  and 
maybe  you  would  n't,  but  we  '11  take  our  chances  on 
that."  Then  with  a  sudden  truculence,  "  I  've  put  up 
with  all  the  talk  from  you  I  'm  going  to  bear,  and  if 
you  know  what 's  good  for  you  you  '11  stop  your  '  vil- 
lains '  and  your  '  hangings '  and  all  that.  We  've  got 
the  upper  hand  here,  and  you  're  the  cock  that 's  down, 
so  you  won't  crow  any  more,  if  you  please." 

Mr.  Cartwright  gi'oaned  again.  "  You  're  breaking 
my  arm,"  he  said  to  the  men  who  were  holding  him 
down. 

When  Mrs.  Cartwi'ight  came  back  into  the  room, 
carrying  a  large  silk  traveling-bag  packed  with  clothes, 


AT   MAKLBOKOUGH  189 

she  was  crying,  making  no  attempt  to  wipe  away  the 
tears  that  ran  down  her  cheeks.  The  pirate  captain 
came  and  stooped  over  Miss  Eleanor  as  she  knelt  with 
her  face  in  her  mother's  lap.  "  Come,  mistress,"  he  said, 
"you  must  go  along  with  us  now."  He  waited  for 
a  moment,  but  she  made  no  reply.  "  You  must  go 
along  with  us,"  he  repeated  in  a  louder  tone ;  and  he 
took  her  by  the  arm  as  he  spoke.  Still  she  made  no 
sound  of  having  heard  him.  Then  he  stooped  over 
and  lifted  her  head.  Mr.  Cartwright  caught  sight  of 
the  face,  and  felt  a  keen  thrill  pierce  through  him. 
"She  is  dead,"  he  thought.  "Come  here,  Morton," 
called  out  the  pirate  captain,  "and  lend  a  hand;  the 
young  lady  's  swooned  clean  away." 

Madam  Parker  made  some  faint  movement  as  her 
daughter  was  taken  from  her,  but  she  could  not  have 
been  conscious  of  what  was  passing.  Mrs.  Cartwright 
wept  hysterically  in  her  husband's  arms  as  they  carried 
the  young  lady  away,  leaving  behind  them  the  room 
littered  with  the  cards,  the  chair  overturned,  and  the 
one  candle  burning  dimly  on  the  card-table.  Outside 
of  the  house  the  negroes  and  the  white  servants  stood 
looking  on  in  helpless,  interested  terror  from  a  dis- 
tance, hidden  by  the  darkness.  Mr.  Simms  was  sitting 
in  his  office,  gagged  and  bound  in  his  chair. 


CHAPTER  XXy 


IN    CAPTIVITY 


IT  seemed  to  Jack  as  he  sat  in  the  darkness  with 
the  watch  upon  the  deck  of  the  sloop,  that  the 
time  passed  away  very,  very  slowly.  The  vessel  lay 
pretty  close  to  the  shore,  and  myriad  sounds  from 
the  dark,  woody  wilderness  seemed  to  fill  the  air — the 
sharp  quivering  rasp  of  multitudinous  insects,  the 
strange  noise  of  the  night  birds,  and  now  and  then  the 
snapping  and  cracking  of  a  branch,  and  always  the 
lapping  gurgle  of  water.  He  lounged  on  a  coil  of  rope, 
watching  the  twinkling  flicker  of  the  fireflies,  and  list- 
ening to  the  men  as  they  talked  among  themselves 
about  people  whom  he  did  not  know.  There  was  a 
strong  interest  in  hearing  what  they  said,  and  so  catch- 
ing, as  it  were,  a  glimpse  of  a  world  so  different  from 
his  own.  A  lantern  swung  in  the  shrouds,  shedding  a 
dim,  yellow  circle  of  light  upon  the  deck,  in  which  sat 
and  squatted  the  five  men  left  in  charge  of  the  sloop. 

"  She  never  got  the  better  of  me,"  one  of  the  men 
was  saying.  "I  tell  you  what 't  is,  I  ain't  the  man  to  put 
up  with  any  women's  notions.  Her  and  I  was  keeping 
company  then,  "and  I  took  her  down  to  Derrick's  P'int 
— that  time  you  was  speaking  of,  Bob.  Well,  Ned  Sal- 
ter had  just  come  back  from  South  Caroliny  with  the 
captain,  and  had  a  pocket  full  of  money.  I  see  her 
making  eyes  at  him  all  the  time,  and  by  and  by  they 
stands  up  to  dance  together.    Jem  Smith,  he  says  to 


190 


IN   CAPTIVITY  191 

me,  '  Tommy,  my  boy,  d'  ye  see  what  a  figure  Sally 
and  Ned  Salter  be  a-cutting  together V  'I  do,'  says  I, 
aud  I  just  walks  across  the  floor  and  up  to  her,  and 
says :  '  Sally,  I  fetched  you  here,  and  if  you  means  to 
shake  me  loose  you  means  it,  and  that  's  all.'  She 
laughed,  kind  of  like,  and  I  saw  her  give  Ned  Salter  a 
nudge  with  her  elbow.  She  did  n't  think  I  see  it,  but 
I  see  it  all  the  same.  '  Very  weU,'  says  I,  '  then  I  see 
how  't  is.'  So  without  another  word  I  goes  away.  I 
goes  right  down  to  the  P'int,  and  I  gets  in  my  boat  and 
I  rows  back  to  Ocracock,  leaving  her  to  get  home  as 
she  chose.  The  next  day  I  see  her,  and  she  says  to  me: 
*  Why,  Tommy,'  says  she, '  where  was  you  last  night  I  I 
could  n't  find  you  nowheres.'  '  Why,'  says  I,  '  I  was 
where  it  suited  me  to  be,'  and  I  walks  on  and  leaves  her. 
I  tell  you,  there  be  n't  a  woman  around  that  can  try  her 
tricks  with  me." 

They  all  sat  in  silence  for  a  while,  digesting  what  the 
speaker  had  said.  "  It  must  be  pretty  near  midnight," 
said  another  of  the  men  irrelevantly,  looking  up  into 
the  starry  sky  as  he  spoke. 

"Harkee,  I  hear  summat,"  said  another,  holding  up 
his  finger.  "  Like  enough  it  be  the  boats  a-coming  back." 

They  all  listened  intently,  but  only  the  ceaseless 
murmurings  of  the  night  filled  the  air,  and  always  the 
laj^ping  gurgle  of  the  water.  "  Then,  there  was  Hetty 
Jackson,"  said  the  man  who  had  just  told  of  his  adven- 
ture. "D'  ye  remember  her.  Bill!  She  'd  just  come 
down  from  Maryland  way  — " 

Suddenly  one  of  the  men — he  who  had  spoken  be- 
fore—  scrambled  up  to  his  feet.  "There  they  are,"  he 
said,  cutting  sharply  into  the  narrative  that  the  other 
was  beginning.     "  I  knowed  I  heard  'em." 

A  breath  of  air  had  sprung  up  from  the  river  and 
had  brought  down  with  it  the  distant  sound  of  meas- 
ured chug-chug  of  the  oars  in  rowlocks. 


192  JACK   BALLISTER'S   FOETUNES 

"  Yes,  that 's  them  for  certahi,"  said  another  of  the 
watch,  and  every  one  scrambled  to  his  feet.  They  all 
stood  looking  out  toward  the  river.  It  was  a  great 
while  before  the  distant  boats  gradually  shaped  them- 
selves into  forms  out  of  the  pale  watery  darkness  be- 
yond. "  There  they  are ;  I  see  them,"  said  one  of  the 
men.  And  then,  in  a  minute,  Jack  also  saw  the  dim, 
formless  dark  blots  upon  the  face  of  the  water.  As 
the  boats  drew  slowly  nearer  and  nearer  to  the  sloop. 
Jack  climbed  up  into  the  shrouds,  whence  he  might  ob- 
tain a  better  view  of  the  men  when  they  should  come 
aboard.  He  did  not  know  at  all  what  the  business  was 
that  had  taken  the  pirates  to  Marlborough,  nor  did  he 
suspect  that  it  was  anything  startlingly  unusual;  he 
was  merely  curious  to  see  the  return  of  the  boats. 
Presently  they  were  alongside — the  yawl-boat  first  of 
all — the  men  unshipping  their  oars  with  a  noisy  rattle 
and  clatter.  Some  of  them  caught  the  chains  just  below 
Jack  as  the  boat  slid  under  the  side  of  the  sloop,  and  the 
other  boats  came  alongside  almost  at  the  same  time. 
Jack  could  see  by  the  light  of  the  lantern  that  those  in 
the  stern  of  the  yawl  were  assisting  a  dark  figure  to 
arise,  and  that  a  sort  of  hushed  attention  was  directed 
toward  it.  He  wondered  what  was  the  matter,  and 
his  first  thought  was  that  some  one  had  been  hurt; 
then  he  saw  that  they  were  helping  somebody  up 
to  the  deck,  and  then,  as  the  light  fell  upon  the  face, 
recognition  came  with  a  sudden  keen  shock, — it  was 
Miss  Eleanor  Parker, —  and  even  in  the  dim  light  he 
could  see  that  her  face  was  as  white  as  death.  Then  he 
saw  that  the  faces  of  all  that  had  come  in  the  boats 
were  blackened  as  though  with  soot.  The  pirate  cap- 
tain had  come  aboard  the  sloop.  "  Easy,  now,"  he  said, 
as  they  lifted  the  young  lady  up  to  the  deck.  Jack  still 
clung  to  the  ratlines,  looking  after  them  as  they  partly 
supported,  partly  carried  the  fainting  figure  across  the 


IN  CAPTIVITY  193 

deck.  The  next  moment  they  had  assisted  her  down  into 
the  cabin.  Then  Jack,  who  had  been  lost  in  wonder, 
returned  sharply  to  the  consciousness  of  other  things. 
He  became  aware  of  the  confusion  of  the  boats'  crews 
coming  aboard,  the  rattling  and  clatter  and  movement 
and  bustle  all  around  him  on  the  deck.  "  Look  alive, 
now,  Gibbons!"  he  heard  Hand's  voice  say  to  the  boats- 
wain. "Get  her  under  way  as  quick  as  you  can,"  and 
he  knew  that  the  sloop  was  about  to  quit  its  anchorage. 

Dred,  who  had  gone  down  into  the  cabin,  had  by  and 
by  returned  upon  deck,  his  face  still  sooty  black.  He 
stood  by  while  the  men  hoisted  the  boats  aboard.  Jack 
came  over  to  where  he  stood.  "  Why,  Dred,"  said  he, 
"  was  n't  that  Mistress  Eleanor  Parker  you  brought 
aboard  just  now  1 "  for  even  yet  he  thought  he  might 
possibly  have  been  mistaken. 

"  You  mind  your  own  business,  lad,"  said  Dred,  turn- 
ing upon  him  and  speaking  more  sharply  than  he  had 
ever  spoken  to  Jack  before.  "You  mind  your  own 
business  and  go  for'ard  where  you  belong."  Then  he 
turned  on  his  heel  and  walked  away  as  though  in  a 
hurry,  and  the  next  moment  Jack  saw  him  go  down 
into  the  cabin  again. 

The  next  morning  Jack  came  on  deck  to  find  the  sloop 
beating  down  the  river  in  the  face  of  a  stiif  breeze.  They 
had  been  sailing  all  night  and  had  made  a  long  reach. 
He  recognized  where  they  were.  The  shore  toward 
which  they  were  now  heading  was  the  high,  sandy  bluff 
that  overlooked  the  oyster  banks,  where  he  had  once 
gone  fishing  with  Dennis  and  the  negro.  He  could  see  in 
the  distance  the  shed  standing  upon  the  summit  of  the 
high,  sandy  bank.  It  looked  very  strange  and  new  to 
him,  and,  at  the  same  time,  curiously  familiar.  It  was 
as  though  a  piece  of  his  past  life  had  been  broken  out 
and  placed  oddly  into  the  setting  that  was  so  strangely 
new  and  different. 

13 


194  JACK  BALLISTEE'S   FORTUNES 

"Where  's  Jack  Ballister?"  he  heard  Dred's  voice 
say,  and  then  he  turned  around  sharply. 

"  Here  I  am  ! "  he  said. 

Dred  came  forward  a  little  distance,  then  he  beck- 
oned and  Jack  went  over  to  him.  "  The  young  lady 
down  in  the  cabin  seems  very  queer  like,"  said  Dred. 
^'  She  won't  say  nothing  and  she  won't  eat  nothing. 
Did  n't  you  say  as  you  knowed  her  at  one  time  and 
that  she  knowed  you,  or  summat  of  the  sort?" 

"  Why,  yes,"  said  Jack.  "  I  know  her  very  well,  but 
I  don't  know  whether  or  no  she  remembers  me  now." 

"Well,  lookee,"  said  Dred,  "the  captain  thinks  as 
how  it  might  rouse  her  up  a  bit  if  somebody  as  knowed 
her  was  to  come  down  and  speak  to  her  and  take  her 
down  summat  to  eat.  Can't  you  get  summat  to  eat, 
such  as  gentlefolk  like  her  cares  for?  D'  ye  see,  we 
don't  know  just  what  they  kind  likes  and  what  they 
needs,  and  't  would  be  a  mightily  serious  thing  for 
all  on  us  if  this  here  young  lady  was  to  take  ill  and 
die  on  our  hands." 

"  I  don't  know,"  said  Jack,  "  whether  I  could  do  any- 
thing for  her  or  not,  but  I  '11  try." 

"  Well,  then,  you  go  down  into  the  galley  and  see  if 
you  can  get  summat  for  her  to  eat,  and  then  fetch  it 
aft  to  the  cabin,  and  try  to  persuade  her  to  eat  a  bite." 

When  Jack  came  out  of  the  galley  a  half  hour  later, 
carrying  a  plate  of  food,  he  heard  the  trum-trumming 
of  the  guitar  sounding  distantly  from  below,  aft.  It  was 
the  first  time  he  had  been  down  into  the  cabin.  He  found 
it  fitted  up  with  some  considerable  comfort,  but  now 
dirty  and  disorderly.  The  bedding  in  the  berths  was 
tumbled  and  dirty,  as  though  it  had  not  been  made  up  for 
a  long  time,  and  the  place  was  filled  with  a  close,  stuffy, 
sour  smell,  pervaded  with  the  odor  of  stale  tobacco 
smoke.  Hands  was  lying,  apparently  asleep,  upon  the 
bench  that  ran  around  the  cabin,  and  Captain  Teach  sat 


IN   CAPTIVITY  195 

upon  the  other  side  of  the  table,  with  a  glass  of  grog 
at  his  elbow.  He  held  his  guitar  across  his  breast, 
aud  his  brown  fingers  —  one  of  them  wearing  a  silver 
ring — picked  at  the  strings.  Behind  the  captain  a  dark 
figure  lay  in  the  berth,  still  and  motionless.  Jack  could 
see  one  hand,  as  white  as  wax,  resting  upon  the  edge 
of  the  berth,  and  he  noticed  the  shine  of  the  rings  upon 
the  fingers. 

Captain  Teach  looked  at  him  as  he  entered.  He 
stopped  playing  as  Jack  came  to  the  place  where  the 
young  lady  lay  and  kneeled  with  one  knee  upon  the 
cushions  of  the  bench.  The  pirate  looked  at  him  with 
great  curiosity,  and  Jack  stood  there  for  a  while,  not 
knowing  what  to  say.  "Won't  you  eat  something, 
mistress?"  he  said  at  last,  awkwardly.  No  re^Dly. 
"  Won't  you  eat  something,  mistress  ?  "  he  said,  again ; 
"I  brought  you  something  here  that  I  think  you  can 
eat  —  a  bit  of  chicken  and  some  rice.  Won't  you  eat 
it?" 

She  shook  her  head,  without  turning  around.  He 
stood  there  for  a  while  in  silence,  looking  at  her.  "  She 
won't  eat  anything,"  said  he  at  last,  turning  toward 
Cai3tain  Teach. 

The  pirate  captain  stared  at  her  for  a  while,  in  brood- 
ing thought.  " Oh,  very  well,  then,"  he  said ;  "let  her 
alone.  She  '11  be  sharp  enough  for  something  to  eat, 
maybe,  by  afternoon.  You  can  take  the  victuals  back 
to  the  galley.  Stop !  let 's  see  what  you  've  got."  He 
fingered  the  food  over  curiously,  as  Jack  held  the  plate 
for  him  to  see.  "Chicken  and  rice,  hehl"  he  said. 
"  Where  did  you  get  the  chicken  I  " 

"The  cook  had  two  of  them  in  a  coop  up  in  the 
bows,"  said  Jack. 

That  day  it  became  known  that  the  captain  was  go- 
ing to  stop  over  night  at  Norfolk,  where  he  had  friends ; 
and  about  sundown  they  di-opped  anchor  in  the  river, 


L 


196  JACK  BALLISTER'S  FORTUNES 

with  the  little  town,  the  spire  of  its  church  showing 
above  the  trees,  lying  about  a  mile  away.  Presently  the 
captain  came  up  from  below.  He  had  combed  out  the 
plaits  of  his  long  black  beard,  and  he  was  dressed  rather 
quietly  in  a  suit  of  brown  clothes  with  brass  buttons, 
white  stockings,  and  shoes  with  plate  buckles.  The 
boat  was  ready  and  waiting  for  him  alongside,  and  he 
stepped  down  into  it.  Jack  watched  it  as  it  pulled 
away  toward  the  shore,  rising  and  falling  and  bobbing 
over  the  tumbling  waves,  the  brown  figure  of  the  cap- 
tain perched  high  in  the  stern,  with  his  coat  tails  spread 
out  upon  either  side.  "  He  's  got  a  lot  of  friends  in 
Norfolk,"  said  one  of  the  men,  who,  smoking  his  pipe, 
lounged  over  the  rail  not  very  far  from  Jack,  "  but  he  's 
got  no  call  to  stop  there  now.  If  he  were  in  my  place 
and  I  in  hisn,  I  'd  make  out  to  sea  without  stopping  to 
go  ashore  for  a  game  of  cards  or  a  taste  o'  grog  at  this 
time."  He  took  his  pipe  from  between  his  teeth  and 
puffed  a  broken  cloud  of  smoke  out  into  the  swift 
windy  air,  looking  gloomily  after  the  boat.  "  'T  is  as 
much  as  our  necks  are  worth,  as  he  well  knows,  for  to 
lie  in  these  here  waters  with  this  young  lady  aboard. 
Supposen  some  'un  was  to  take  a  notion  to  come 
aboard  on  us  and  should  find  out  who  we  had  here  in 
the  cabin,  how  long  do  you  suppose  't  would  be  afore 
all  on  us  would  be  a-lyin'  in  the  jug  in  Williamsburgh 
with  a  halter  about  our  necks  f " 

Jack  felt  a  sudden  rush  of  apprehension  seize  upon 
him  at  the  man's  words.  He  had  not  realized,  until 
that  moment,  what  it  meant  for  him  to  be  aboard  the 
pirate's  sloop;  that,  having  joined  himself  with  out- 
laws, he  himself  was  now  an  outlaw.  He  stood  silently 
for  a  while,  staring  after  the  receding  boat.  "  I  do  sup- 
pose," he  said  at  last,  "  that  the  captain  won't  be  long 
ashore." 

The  man  shrugged  his  shoulders.     "  If  he  once  gets 


IN   CAPTIVITY  197 

ashore  with  his  friends  and  a  bottle  of  grog,  maybe 
't  will  be  the  best  part  of  the  night  afore  he  gets  away 
again." 

Jack  drew  a  deep  breath.  "  Well,"  he  said,  "  't  was 
a  mightily  foolhardy  thing  for  him  to  do,  to  be  sure." 

Just  then  some  one  laid  a  hand  upon  his  shoulder, 
and  he  turned  around  with  a  start.  It  was  Dred. 
"  The  young  lady  's  roused  up  a  bit,"  he  said ;  "  maybe, 
if  you  'd  take  summat  down  to  her  now,  she  'd  eat  it." 


CHAPTER  XXVI 

THE  pirate's   lair 

IT  took  nearly  a  week  to  run  from  Norfolk  to  Bath 
Town.  The  sloop  had  I'un  into  Oeracock  before  the 
breaking  of  the  fourth  day ;  had  discharged  nearly  all 
of  its  crew,  with  noisy  hubbub,  into  the  inscrutable 
gray  of  the  dawning,  and  had  then  sailed  away  up  the 
sound,  with  only  the  pirate  captain,  Dred,  and  Hands, 
and  Jack,  and  two  negroes  left  of  the  thirty  or  more 
who  had  comprised  the  vessel's  company.  It  was  in 
the  early  daylight  of  the  following  day  that  the  sloop 
came  about  and,  with  a  short  tack,  sailed  into  the 
mouth  of  Bath  Creek.  On  one  side  a  swamp  fringed 
with  giant  cypress-trees,  their  bright-green  foliage 
standing  out  against  the  darker  green  of  the  trees 
behind,  came  close  down  to  the  point.  Upon  the  other 
side  were  open  clearings  of  plantations.  About  half 
a  league  up,  at  the  head  of  the  mouth  of  the  creek, 
the  houses  of  the  little  town  clustered  among  the  trees 
upon  a  gentle  rise  of  open  gi'ound.  The  sloop  was 
sailing  smoothly  nearer  and  nearer  to  the  bluff  shore, 
upon  which  stood  a  square  frame  house  with  a  tall, 
sloping  roof  and  two  lean  chimneys.  The  house,  which 
appeared  to  be  of  a  somewhat  better  quality  than  the 
ordinary  wooden  house  of  the  common  settler,  was 
almost  hidden  by  the  shade  of  two  great  cypress-trees 
that  grew  up  from  what  seemed  to  be  a  little  marshy 
hollow.     Behind  it,  a  glimpse  of  a  clearing  showed, 

198 


THE   pirate's   lair  199 

stretching  away  to  the  edge  of  the  woods  beyond.  A 
skiff  and  a  dug-out  lay  drawn  up  on  the  beach  close  to 
a  landing-place,  and  Jack  could  see  two  rough-looking 
white  men  standing  on  the  little  wharf,  looking  out 
toward  the  sloop.  He  was  standing  by  with  the  two 
negroes  who  now  composed  the  crew,  ready  to  help  let 
go  the  anchor  at  the  word  of  command,  when  Dred 
came  up  out  of  the  cabin  and  across  the  deck  to  where 
he  stood.  "  You  come  with  me,"  he  said ;  "  the  captain 
wants  you  down  in  the  cabin." 

As  Jack  went  below  he  heard  the  loud  splash  of  the 
anchor,  and  then  the  sound  of  the  running  of  the  block 
as  Hands  let  the  sail  go  to  the  wind.  The  captain  was 
combing  out  his  shaggy  hair,  and  the  young  lady  sit- 
ting leaning  with  her  arms  upon  the  table  as  he  came 
down  the  companion-way.  She  wore  an  air  as  of 
dumb  expectation.  "  Here,  young  man,"  said  the  cap- 
tain, "you  're  to  go  ashore  with  me  and  the  young 
lady.  I  want  you  to  carry  that  bag  of  clothes  up  to 
the  house,"  nodding  his  head  toward  the  table  where 
lay  the  bundle.  There  was  a  long  pause  as  the  pirate 
continued  his  toilet.  "  You  're  to  wait  upon  the  young 
lady,  and  be  handy  to  help  whenever  my  wife  wants 
you,"  he  continued,  "  d'  ye  understand  f " 

"  Yes,  sir,"  said  Jack. 

Then  Hands  came  to  the  companion-way  to  say  that 
the  boat  was  ready;  and  Blackboard  turned  to  the 
young  lady.  "Come,  mistress,"  he  said,  "if  you  're 
ready  now  we  '11  go  ashore." 

The  young  lady  rose  instantly  from  her  place,  and 
stood  resting  her  hand  upon  the  table,  looking  about 
her.  "D'  ye  want  any  help?"  said  the  pirate.  She 
shook  her  head.     "  Well,  come  along,  then." 

The  captain  led  the  way  to  the  deck ;  Miss  Eleanor 
Parker  followed,  and  Jack  came  behind.  The  young 
lady  looked  around  her  as  she  came  up  into  the  open 


200  JACK   BALLISTEK'S   FOKTUXES 

air.  The  faint  wind  stirred  the  hair  at  her  temples  as. 
she  gazed  steadily  at  the  little  town  lying  seemingly 
so  close.  Jack  had  not  noticed  before  how  thin  and 
pale  she  had  grown.  The  bright  glare  of  the  sunlight 
made  her  look  singularly  wan.  The  boat  was  alongside, 
the  negroes  holding  it  close  to  the  side  of  the  sloop. 
They  helped  the  young  lady  into  it  almost  officiously, 
and  then  the  captain  took  his  place  beside  her.  "  You 
jump  aboard  up  there  in  the  bow,"  he  said  to  Jack; 
and,  as  Jack  took  his  place,  the  negroes  pushed  off  and 
began  rowing  away  toward  the  shore.  Jack  watched 
the  wharf  as  it  came  nearer  and  nearer.  He  could  see 
that  one  of  the  white  men  who  stood  there  looked 
haggard  and  pinched  as  though  with  illness.  The}'  did 
not  look  like  sea-faring  men,  and  he  judged  them  to  be 
neighboring  j)lanters  from  some  of  the  places  further 
inland.  The  next  moment  the  negroes  backed  oars,  the 
bow  of  the  boat  touched  with  a  bump  against  the  land- 
ing, and  Jack  jumped  ashore.  At  the  captain's  bidding 
he  reached  out  his  hand,  and  in  instant  response  felt 
Miss  Eleanor  Parker's  gTasp,  soft  and  warm.  She  held 
tightly  to  him  as  he  helped  her  up  from  the  boat  to 
the  landing,  and  he  was  conscious  that  the  two  men 
on  the  wharf  were  staring  intently  at  him  and  at  her. 

They  still  stood  dumbly  staring  as  Jack,  carrying 
Miss  Eleanor  Parker's  bundle,  followed  the  captain  and 
the  young  lady  up  the  crooked  path  to  the  house. 

From  a  distance  the  house  had  appeared  picturesque 
—  almost  beautiful  —  hidden  among  the  soft-green  foli- 
age of  the  cypress-trees;  but  it  looked  shabby  and 
weather-worn  and  even  squalid  upon  a  nearer  approach. 
A  young  woman  of  sixteen  or  seventeen  vears  old  stood 
in  the  doorway,  looking  at  them  as  they  came  up  the 
path.  Her  face  was  not  uncomely,  but  was  heavy  and 
dull.  Her  hair  was  light  and  colorless,  and  was  tied 
up  under  a  dirty  cap.     She  was  in  her  bare  feet ;  she 


'  JACK    FOLLOWED    THE    CAPTAIN    AND    THE    YOUNG    LADY    UP    THE 
CROOKED    PATH    TO    THE    HOUSE." 


THE   pirate's   lair  201 

wore  a  jacket  without  sleeves,  partly  pinned,  partly 
buttoned,  and  under  it  a  flaming  red  petticoat.  She 
stared  at  them  with  wide  eyes,  but  the  pirate  said  no- 
thing at  all  to  her,  and  she  stood  aside  as  he  led  the 
way  directly  into  the  house.  The  floor  was  bare  and 
uncarpeted.  There  were  a  table  and  two  chairs ;  some 
tin  boxes  and  a  couple  of  candlesticks,  caked  with 
grease,  stood  upon  the  mantel  together  with  a  loud- 
ticking  clock.  Altogether,  the  room,  with  its  bare  plas- 
tered walls,  was  very  naked  and  cheerless,  and  was  filled 
with  a  rank,  smoky  smell.  "  Sit  down,  mistress,"  said 
Blackbeard ;  and  then,  as  Miss  Eleanor  Parker  obeyed 
him,  "  This  is  my  wife,"  he  said,  "  and  she  '11  look  after 
you  for  a  while.  D'  ye  hear,  Betty  ?  You  're  to  look 
after  the  young  lady.  Gro  up-stairs  now,  and  get  the 
spare  room  ready,  and  be  as  lively  about  it  as  you  can. 
You  take  the  young  lady's  bundle  up-stairs,  boys;  he — " 
nodding  toward  his  wife  — "  she  '11  show  you  where." 

Jack  followed  the  young  woman  up  the  rickety  stairs 
to  the  sagging  floor  above.  "  Here,  this  is  the  place," 
she  said,  opening  the  door  upon  a  room  directly  under 
the  roof.  It  looked  out  through  two  windows  across 
the  creek  to  the  swamp  on  the  other  side,  a  half  mile 
or  so  away.  "  Who  is  she  ? "  said  the  woman  to  Jack, 
as  he  followed  her  into  the  room,  and  laid  the  trav- 
eling-bag upon  the  bed. 

"  The  young  lady  down-stairs  ?  She  's  Miss  Eleanor 
Parker,"  Jack  answered. 

"  A  grand,  fine  lady,  be  n't  she  ?  "  and  Jack  nodded. 
"  Well,  you  trig  up  the  room  a  little  now,  won't  you ! 
I  '11  just  go  put  on  a  better  dress,  for,  d'  ye  see,  I  did  n't 
look  for  Ned  to  bring  such  fine  company.  You  'd 
better  bring  up  a  pail  of  water,  too,  for  I  reckon  she  '11 
be  wanting  to  wash  herself." 

Blackboard's  wife  was  gone  for  a  long  time.  The 
pirate  walked  restlessly  and  irritably  up  and  down  the 


202  JACK  BALLISTEE'S   FOKTUNES 

room,  stopping  once  at  the  mantel-shelf  to  fill  a  pipe 
of  tobacco.  The  young  lady  sat  impassively,  with  her 
hands  lying  in  her  lap,  gazing  absently  upon  the  floor. 
Once  or  twice  the  pirate  glared  with  angry  impatience 
at  the  door.  At  last  there  was  the  sound  of  footsteps 
—  this  time  not  of  bare  feet  —  clattering  down  the 
stairs,  and  a  second  later  the  pirate's  wife  opened  the 
door  and  entered  the  room.  She  had  changed  her 
slatternly  dress  for  a  medley  of  finery.  She  wore  high- 
heeled  shoes  and  silk  stockings  with  red  clocks.  She 
courtesied  to  the  young  lady  as  Blackbeard  glared  at 
her.  "  If  you  come  along  with  me  now,  madam,"  she 
said  with  an  air,  "  I  '11  show  you  to  your  room." 


CHAPTER  XXVII 


AT   BATH   TOWN 


"  AT^OU  and  Chris  Dred  will  have  to  sleep  together," 
J-  the  pii'ate's  wife  had  said  to  Jack,  the  first  eve- 
ning of  his  arrival.  "He  's  lived  here  ever  since  he 
came  back.  He  sleeps  in  the  corner  room ;  there  ain't 
no  bed  in  t'  other;  so,  now  the  young  lady  's  come, 
you  '11  have  to  sleep  together,  or  one  of  you  '11  have 
to  sleep  on  the  floor."  And  so  Jack  was  settled  at 
the  pirate's  house. 

The  next  morning  the  pirate  captain  sent  Jack  in  a 
boat  up  to  the  town  with  a  letter  to  Mr.  Knight,  the 
colonial  secretary. 

The  town  appeared  singularly  interesting  to  Jack  as, 
leaving  the  skiff  at  a  little  landing,  under  the  care  of 
the  negro  who  had  rowed  him  up  to  the  place,  he  walked 
up  a  straggling  lane  between  some  fishing  huts,  and 
so  to  the  main  street,  which,  with  its  dirt  sidewalk, 
was  shaded  with  trees,  through  which  filtered  uncer- 
tain, wavering  spots  of  sunlight.  The  day  was  hot, 
a  dry  wind  rustled  the  leaves  overhead,  and  a  belated 
cicada  trilled  its  shrill  note  that,  rising  for  a  while, 
pulsed  whirring  away  into  silence.  The  houses,  mostly 
built  of  wood,  were  small  and  not  very  clean.  They 
nearly  all  stood  close  to  the  street.  A  sort  of  indolent 
life  stirred  in  the  place,  and  further  down  the  street  a 
lot  of  men  were  lounging  in  front  of  a  building  that 
looked  as  if  it  might  be  a  store  of  some  sort.     They 

203 


204  JACK   BALLISTEK'S   FOKTUNES 

stared  at  Jack  as  he  drew  near,  and  when  he  asked 
where  he  should  find  Mr.  Knight,  they  did  not  imme- 
diately reply. 

"Mr.  Knight?"  said  one  of  the  group.  "Why,  I 
reckon  Mr.  Knight  be  n't  in  town ;  he  went  off  across 
the  country  the  day  afore  yesterday,  and  I  reckon  he 
be  n't  back  yet. 

"  Yes,  he  be  back,"  said  another ;  "  anyways,  his  horse 
be  back  again,  for  I  saw  Jem  a-rubbing  it  down  as  I 
came  by  the  stable  a  while  ago." 

Then  one  of  the  men  got  slowly  up  from  where  he 
sat,  and  led  Jack  out  into  the  middle  of  the  street. 
"  D'  ye  see  that  open  place  yonder  ?  Well,  that 's  where 
the  church  stands.  Just  beyond  that  —  you  can  see  it 
from  here  —  is  the  house.  'T  is  the  very  next  house 
to  the  church.     Well,  that 's  Mr.  Knight's  house." 

Mr.  Knight's  residence  was  built  of  brick  and  was  very 
much  better  looking  than  the  houses  that  surrounded 
it.  Jack  found  that  the  secretary  was  at  home,  and 
was  shown  into  his  office.  He  was  smoking  a  pipe  of 
tobacco  and  looking  over  some  papers  which  littered 
the  wi'iting-desk  at  which  he  sat.  He  was  a  rather 
thin,  dark  man,  not  ill-looking,  but  nervous  and  jerky 
in  his  movements.  He  wore  a  black  cloth  skull-cap 
upon  his  head,  and  Jack  saw  a  fine  wig  of  black  hair 
hanging  behind  the  door. 

He  turned  his  head  and  looked  over  his  shoulder  at 
Jack  as  he  came  into  the  room.  "  Well,"  he  said  in  a 
sharp,  quick  voice,  "  what  d'  ye  want  1 " 

"  Why,  master,"  said  Jack,  "  Captain  Teach  hath  sent 
me  up  with  this  note  for  you,  sir," 

"  O !  he  did,  did  he  ?  Well,  let  me  have  it."  He  leaned 
back  in  his  chair  and  reached  out  for  the  note,  which 
Jack  handed  to  him  and  which  he  tore  open  quickly 
and  sharply.  Jack  noticed  how  the  letter  trembled  in 
his  nervous  hand  as  he  held  it.   He  watched  his  eyes  as 


AT   BATH   TOWN  205 

they  traveled  down  the  page  until  they  reached  the  bot- 
tom, and  then  as  he  turned  over  the  paper  to  make  sure 
that  there  was  nothing  upon  the  other  side.  "Very  well," 
he  said  when  he  had  ended ;  "  tell  the  captain  I  '11  be 
there  to-morrow." 

"  Yes,  sir,"  said  Jack,  lingering  for  a  moment.  "  Is  that 
all?" 

"  That 's  all.     I  '11  be  down  to-morrow  night." 

"  Yes,  sir,"  said  Jack  again. 

Mr.  Knight  came  down  to  the  pirate's  house  at  the 
appointed  time,  and  Captain  Teach  stood  at  the  door 
watching  him  as  he  came  up  the  crooked  path.  The 
pirate  had  been  playing  upon  his  guitar,  and  he  now 
stood  holding  it  under  his  arm  as  Mr.  Knight  ap- 
proached, limping  slightly  and  walking  with  a  cane. 
The  evening  was  warm,  and  he  carried  his  hat  under 
his  arm.  Jack  stood  around  the  end  of  the  house,  also 
looking  at  the  colonial  secretary  as  he  approached. 
"  How  d'  ye  do,  captain  I "  said  Mr.  Knight,  as  soon 
as  he  had  come  near  enough. 

"  Wliy,  I  'm  well  enough,"  said  Blackbeard,  surlily, 
taking  his  pipe  out  of  his  mouth  to  reply.  "  Hands  and 
Dred  are  both  here,  and  we  've  been  waiting  for  you 
for  some  time  now.     Come  in." 

He  led  the  way  into  the  room,  where  the  two  of  whom 
he  had  spoken  were  sitting  smoking  and  drinking  rum 
and  water  in  the  dusk.  Mr.  Knight  nodded  to  the  others. 
"  Well,  captain,"  he  said  as  he  took  his  seat  and  laid  his 
hat  and  cane  upon  the  table,  "  what 's  this  business  you 
want  to  see  me  about?  Wliat  's  this  I  hear  about  a 
young  lady  you  've  brought  down  from  Virginia  ?  " 

"  Why,"  said  Captain  Teach,  "  I  reckon 't  is  just  about 
as  you  've  heard  it."  He  had  laid  aside  his  guitar,  and 
had  gone  to  the  mantel-shelf  and  was  striking  a  flint 
and  steel  to  light  the  candle.    "  I  brought  a  young  lady 


206  JACK  BALLISTER'S   FORTUNES 

down  with  me  from  Virginia  —  she 's  staying  here  with 
my  wife." 

"  Well,  what 's  the  business  you  have  with  me  ? " 

"  I  '11  tell  you  that  in  a  minute  as  soon  as  I  get  this 
bloody  candle  lighted.  I  '11  murder  that  woman  some 
day.  This  is  the  third  time  she  's  left  the  punk  out 
to  get  wet.  There  it  comes ! "  He  blew  the  spark  into 
blaze  and  lit  the  candle.  Now,  Mr.  Secretary  Knight," 
he  said,  "I  '11  tell  you  just  exactly  what  the  business  is 
we  want  of  you  and  just  what  we  've  been  doing.  Do 
you  know  of  Colonel  Birchall  Parker  ? " 

"  Why,  to  be  sure  I  do,"  said  Mr.  Knight.  "  Why  do 
you  ask  such  a  thing  as  that  ?  " 

"  Well,  I  've  carried  his  daughter  off  from  Virginia ; 
we  've  got  her  here  in  this  house." 

Mr.  Knight  sat  quite  still  for  a  long  time.  "  Then 
't  is  just  as  I  heard  this  morning,"  he  said  at  last,  "  but 
indeed  I  could  n't  believe  it,  nor  how  you  would  dare 
do  such  a  thing  as  to  carry  off  Colonel  Birchall  Parker's 
daughter.  'T  is  the  maddest  thing  I  ever  heard  tell  of 
in  all  my  life,  and  if  I  was  you  I  'd  send  the  young  lady 
"back  just  as  soon  as  ever  I  could." 

"Why,  then,  Mr.  Secretary,"  said  Captain  Teach,  "I'm 
much  beholden  to  you  for  advice,  but  just  you  listen  to 
me  for  a  little,  will  you  ?  and  give  me  time  to  say  my  say 
before  you  advise  me.  I  'm  not  going  to  send  her  back 
just  now,  in  spite  of  your  advice,  nor  until  her  father 
pays  a  good  round  sum  to  get  her  back."  And  then, 
after  a  little  pause,  during  which  he  filled  his  pipe, — 
"  I  tell  you  what  't  is,  Mr.  Secretary  Knight,  there  be 
a,  greater  one  than  you  or  me  mixed  up  in  this  here 
business — no  less  a  one,  if  you  will  believe  me,  than 
Mr.  Dick  Parker." 

"  What  I "  exclaimed  Mr.  Knight, "  Mr.  Richard  Parker  ? 
What  d'  ye  mean  by  that  ? " 

"  Why,  I  just  mean  what  I  say,"  said  Captain  Teach. 


AT  BATH   TOWN  207 

"  Mr.  Parker  is  the  one  man  in  this,  and  we  manage  it 
as  his  agents.  So  you  may  see  for  yourself  we  're  not 
so  likely  to  come  to  any  harm  as  ye  might  think,  for  if 
we  come  to  any  harm  it  drags  him  along  with  us.  'T  was 
his  plan  and  by  his  information  that  the  young  lady  was 
taken — and,  more  than  that,  his  plan  is  that  you  shall 
write  to  him  as  though  to  give  him  the  first  informa- 
tion of  her  being  here  in  the  keep  of  the  Pamlico  Pirates. 
Then  he  's  to  go  to  Colonel  Parker  and  make  the  best 
bargain  he  can  to  have  her  redeemed." 

"  Stop  a  bit,  captain  ! "  interrupted  Mr.  Knight.  "You 
're  going  all  too  fast  in  this  matter.  You  seem  to  be 
pleased  to  count  on  me  in  this  business  without  asking 
me  anything  about  it.  I  tell  you  plain  that  this  is  too 
serious  a  thing  for  me  to  tamper  with.  Why,  d'  ye  think 
I  'm  such  a  villain  as  to  trade  in  such  business  as  this 
at  the  risk  of  my  neck  ? " 

"  Well,"  said  the  j^irate  captain,  "  that  is  just  as  you 
choose,  Mr.  Secretary.  But  I  don't  see  that  you  need 
bring  yourself  into  any  danger  at  all.  You  won't  appear 
in  it  as  a  principal  in  any  way.  'T  is  I  and  those  with 
me,"  sweeping  his  hands  toward  Hands  and  Dred,  "who 
really  take  all  the  risk ;  and  I  take  it  even  though  I 
know  that  if  anything  should  happen  you  'd  throw  us 
overboard  without  waiting  a  second  moment  to  think 
about  it." 

Mr.  Knight  sat  in  thoughtful  silence  for  a  while. 
"  What  money  is  there  in  this  for  you  I "  said  he,  look- 
ing up  sharply. 

"  That  I  don't  know,  neither,"  said  the  other.  "  Mr. 
Parker  will  manage  that  at  t'  other  end,  and  methinks 
we  can  trust  him  to  squeeze  out  all  there  is  in  it." 

"  What  does  he  expect  for  his  share  in  this  j^recious 
conspiracy  ? "  the  secretary  asked  after  a  while  of  silent 
thought. 

"  Why,"  said  the  other,  "  there  he  drives  a  mightily 


208  JACK  BALLISTEE'S   FORTUNES 

hard  bargain  —  he  demands  a  half  of  all  for  his  share, 
and  he  will  not  take  a  farthing  less." 

Mr.  Knight  whistled  to  himself.  "Well,"  he  said, 
"he  does  indeed  drive  hard  at  you,  captain.  But, 
after  all,  I  do  not  know  that  I  can  be  easier  upon  you ; 
for  if  I  go  into  this  business  it  '11  be  upon  the  same 
stand  that  Mr.  Parker  takes :  I  will  have  the  half  that 
is  left  after  he  has  taken  his  half." 

Captain  Teach  burst  out  laughing.  "  Why,  ye  bloody 
leech ! "  he  roared,  "  what  d'  ye  mean  by  saying  such  a 
thing  as  that  to  me  ?  'T  is  one  thing  for  Mr.  Parker  to 
make  his  terms,  and 't  is  another  thing  for  you  to  do  it : 
ye  pistareen.  I  tell  you  what  shall  be  your  share  of  it : 
I  shall  have  my  third  first  of  all,  and  you  shall  stand 
in  for  your  share  with  Hands  and  Morton  and  Dred." 

Mr.  Knight  shook  his  head.  "  Very  well,  then,"  said 
the  pirate  captain,  harshly,  pushing  back  his  chair  and 
rising  as  he  spoke.  "  If  you  choose  to  throw  away  what 
may  drop  into  your  hands  without  any  risk  to  yourself, 
you  may  do  so  and  welcome.  I  '11  manage  the  business 
as  best  I  can  without  you." 

"  Stop  a  bit,  captain,"  said  Mr.  Knight.  "  You  are  too 
hasty  by  half.  Tell  me  now,  just  what  is  it  you  want 
me  to  do  in  this  affair  1 " 

"  Why,"  said  Captain  Teach,  "  I  have  told  you  in  part 
what  I  want  you  to  do.  'T  is  first  of  all  to  write  a  letter 
to  Mr.  Richard  Parker,  saying  that  you  have  certain  in- 
formation that  the  young  lady.  Colonel  Parker's  daugh- 
ter, is  in  the  hands  of  certain  pirates,  and  that  they 
won't  give  her  up  unless  a  ransom  is  paid  for  her.  Ye 
may  add  also — as  is  the  truth — that  she  appears  to  be 
in  the  way  of  falling  sick  if  she  is  n't  taken  away  home 
pretty  quick.  Then,  after  you  have  writ  your  letter,  you 
must  hunt  up  a  decent,  respectable  merchant-captain  or 
master  to  take  it  up  to  Virginia  and  see  that  it  is  deliv- 
ered into  Mr.  Richard  Parker's  hands." 


AT   BATH   TOWN  209 

Mr.  Knight  looked  very  serious.  "  But  is  the  young 
lady  really  sick  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  Well,  I  can't  truly  say  she  is  sick,  but  she  's  not  so 
well,  neither." 

"And  have  you  thought  of  what  danger  you  'd  be  in 
if  she  was  to  die  on  your  hands  I  " 

"  Yes,  I  have,"  said  the  other,  "  and  so  you  need  n't 
waste  any  more  words  about  it.  Tell  me,  will  you  take 
in  with  this  business,  or  will  you  not  ?  " 

"  Humph ! "  said  Mr.  Knight,  rubbing  his  chin  thought- 
fully. He  sat  for  a  long  time  looking  broodingly  at  the 
flickering  candle-light.  "  There 's  Nat  Jackson  hath  gone 
up  the  river  for  a  cargo  of  wood  shingles.  He  's  looked 
for  back  here  on  Friday :  't  is  like  enough  he  would  be 
your  man  to  take  the  letter  if  I  go  into  this  business." 

"  I  dare  say  he  '11  do  well  enough,"  said  Captain  Teach, 
impatiently.  "  But  tell  me,  what  is  your  answer,  Mr. 
Secretary  ?    Will  you  go  into  the  business  or  not  ? " 

"  I  '11  tell  you  to-morrow,"  said  Mr.  Knight.  "  If  I  go 
into  it  I  '11  send  you  a  draft  of  the  letter  to  Mr.  Parker. 
Will  that  suit  you  ?  " 

"  Why,"  said  the  other,  sullenly,  "  't  will  have  to  suit; 
but  methinks  you  might  give  a  plain  yes  or  no  without 
so  much  beating  around  the  bush,  or  taking  so  much 
time  to  think  it  over." 

Jack  and  the  pii*ate's  wife  sat  in  the  kitchen.  They 
could  hear  the  grumble  of  talk  from  the  room  beyond. 
"  I  tell  you  what 't  is,"  said  Jack,  breaking  the  silence, 
"  to  my  mind  the  young  lady  don't  look  anything  like 
so  well  as  when  I  saw  her  in  Virginia." 

"  I  don't  know  why  she  'd  be  sick,"  said  the  woman. 
"  We  give  her  good  enough  victuals  to  eat  and  she  don't 
lack  for  company.  I  'm  sure  I  sat  with  her  nigh  all 
afternoon,  and  she  answered  me  pretty  enough  when  I 
talked  to  her." 

14 


210  JACK  BALLISTEE'S   FOKTUNES 

By  and  by  they  heard  the  party  in  the  other  room 
break  up  and  Mr.  Knight's  parting  words  as  he  left  the 
house.  Presently  Dred  came  into  the  kitchen;  he  looked 
dull  and  heavy-eyed.  "  I  reckon  I  must  'a'  caught  the 
fever,"  he  said;  "  my  head  beats  fit  to  split,  and  I  'm  that 
hot  I  'm  all  afire.  D'  ye  have  any  spirits  of  bark  here, 
mistress  I " 

The  pirate's  wife  got  up  and  went  to  the  closet  and 
brought  out  a  bottle  of  decoction  of  bitter  bark  from 
which  she  poured  a  large  dose  into  a  teacup.  Dred 
drank  it  off  at  a  gulp,  making  a  hideous,  wry  face. 
Then  he  spat  and  wiped  his  hand  across  his  mouth. 


CHAPTER  XXYIII 

m  NOETH   CAEOLINA  —  IX    VIEGINIA 

THREE  or  four  days  after  Mr.  Knight's  inter^dew 
with  the  pirates,  Captain  Jackson,  of  whom  the 
colonial  secretary  had  spoken  as  having  gone  up  the 
river  for  a  cargo  of  wood  shingles,  stopped  at  Bath 
Town  on  his  way  to  Baltimore,  and  Mr.  Knight  sent  a 
note  to  Blackbeard,  telling  him  that  he  would  bring  the 
coasting  captain  down  that  same  evening.  Dred  was  j  nst 
then  sick  in  bed  with  the  earlier  stages  of  his  fever,  so  that 
only  the  pirate  captain  himself  and  Hands,  the  master, 
were  left  to  meet  the  secretary  and  the  Baltimore  skipper. 

It  was  after  dusk  when  Mr.  Knight  and  the  Baltimore 
man  came  down  from  the  town  to  the  pirate's  house. 
The  boat  in  which  they  arrived  was  rowed  by  two  white 
men  of  the  crew  of  the  "  Eliza  Boydell,"  the  coasting 
schooner,  "  Where  's  your  master,  boy  f "  said  Mr. 
Knight  to  Jack,  who  stood  at  the  landing,  watching 
their  approach. 

"  He 's  over  aboard  the  sloop,"  said  Jack.  "  He  went 
there  an  hour  or  more  ago,  and  left  word  you  were  to 
go  over  there  when  you  came." 

Mr.  Knight  looked  displeased.  "  I  fear  he  '11  be  drink- 
ing," he  said  to  Captain  Jackson,  "  and  as  like  as  not 
be  in  one  of  his  devil's  humors.  'T  is  so  he  ever  appears 
to  be  when  he  hath  some  venture  of  especial  risk  in 
hand.  I  've  a  mind  to  go  back  to  the  town  again,  and 
come  another  day." 

211 


212  JACK   BALLISTER'S   FOETUNES 

"  I  'm  not  afraid  of  him,"  Jack  heard  Captain  Jack- 
son say.  "  I  've  seen  him  often  enough  to  know  him 
well,  and  I  've  seen  him  in  his  liquor  and  I  've  seen  him 
sober ; "  and  then  the  boat  rowed  away  from  the  land- 
ing toward  the  sloop. 

No  one  met  Mr.  Knight  and  Captain  Jackson  as  the 
two  came  aboard  the  pirate  vessel.  Even  before  they 
reached  the  cabin  hatchway  they  could  smell  the  fumes 
of  liquor  which  filled  the  space  below.  It  was  as  Mr. 
Knight  had  apprehended — the  captain  and  his  master 
had  been  drinking.  The  visitors  found  the  cabin  lit 
by  the  light  of  a  single  candle,  and  a  squat  bottle  of 
rum  stood  on  the  table,  from  which  both  pirates  were 
tippling  freely.  As  the  two  visitors  entered.  Hands 
was  in  the  act  of  filling  his  pipe  with  uncertain,  tipsy 
fingers,  and  Captain  Teach  sat  leaning  upon  the  table, 
the  lean,  brown  fingers  of  his  hands  locked  aroand 
his  glass.  He  glowered  gioomingly  at  the  two  visitors, 
but  he  offered  them  no  word  of  welcome.  "  Well,  cap- 
tain," said  Mr.  Knight,  "  d'  ye  see,  I  fetched  our  friend. 
Captain  Jackson.  And  I  've  fetched  the  letter  I  've  wi'it 
to  our  friend  in  Virginia  for  you  to  see."  Captain  Teach 
still  looked  gloomily  from  under  his  brows  at  his  visitors, 
without  vouchsafing  any  answer. 

"  I  'm  glad  to  see  you,  captain,"  said  Captain  Jack- 
son. "  'T  is  a  long  while  since  we  met,  and  you  be 
looking  hale  and  well." 

Captain  Teach  turned  his  dull,  heavy  eyes  upon  the 
speaker,  but  still  he  did  not  say  anything. 

"  Oh,  he  's  well  enough,  he  is,"  said  Hands,  thickly. 
"  He  's  never  sick  —  sick,  he  ain't."  He  tilted  the  bowl 
of  his  pipe  uncertainly  against  the  candle  flame,  at  fii'st 
not  quite  hitting  the  object  at  which  he  aimed.  "  Well, 
when  he  dies,"  said  Hands,  with  a  wink  toward  Mr. 
Knight,  "  the  devil  dies,  he  does,  and  then  honest  — 
honest  men  all  go  to  h — ic  —  heaven." 


IN  NOKTH   CAKOLINA  —  IN  VIRGINIA  213 

Captain  Teach  did  not  look  at  his  sailing-master. 
"Yon  be  still,"  he  growled.  "You  don't  know  what 
yon  're  saying  —  you  don't.     You  're  in  liquor,  you  are." 

Hands  winked  tipsily  at  the  visitors,  as  though  what 
the  other  said  was  a  great  joke.  Mr.  Knight  stood 
looking  uncertainly  from  one  to  the  other.  "  Perhaps 
we  'd  better  come  some  other  time,"  he  said ;  "  I  don't 
think  you  choose  to  talk  about  this  business  now, 
captain." 

"What  d'  ye  mean?"  growled  the  pirate.  "D'  ye 
mean  to  say  I  'm  drunk,  ye  villain?"  and  he  turned  his 
heavy-eyed  glare  at  the  secretary. 

"Why,  no,"  said  Mr.  Knight,  soothingly,  "I  don't 
mean  to  say  you  're  drunk,  captain.  Far  be  it  from  me 
to  say  that.  I  only  mean  to  S3,y  that  maybe 't  would  suit 
you  better  to  have  us  come  another  time,  as  I  see  you  're 
in  the  humor  of  having  some  sport  to-night,  and  maybe 
don't  choose  to  talk  business." 

"  I  know  what  you  mean  to  say,"  said  the  pirate  cap- 
tain, moodily.  "You  mean  to  say  that  I  'm  drunk. 
Maybe  I  'm  drunk,  but  I  'm  sober  enough  to  know  what 
I  'm  at  yet."  He  was  fumbling  in  his  coat  pocket  as  he 
sj^oke,  and  as  he  ended,  he  brought  out  a  pistol  of  the 
sort  called  a  dag  or  dragon  —  a  short,  stubby  weapon 
with  a  brass  barrel.  "  I  'm  just  as  steady  as  a  rock," 
said  he,  "and  I  could  snuff  that  candle  easy  enough 
without  putting  out  the  light."  He  aimed  his  pistol,  as 
he  spoke,  toward  the  candle,  shutting  one  eye.  Captain 
Jackson  was  directly  in  range  upon  the  other  side  of 
the  table,  and  he  ducked  down  like  a  flash,  crouching 
beneath  the  edge  of  the  board.  "  Hold  hard,  captain," 
he  cried,  in  a  muffled  voice.  "  Take  care  what  you  're 
at !     You  '11  do  somebody  a  harm  the  next  thing." 

Captain  Teach  still  aimed  the  weapon  for  a  few 
seconds  of  breathless  hush.  Mr.  Knight  waited  tensely 
for  the  report  of  the  pistol,  but  it  did  not  come,  and 


214  JACK  BALLISTEE'S  FOETUNES 

presently  the  captain  lowered  the  hammer  and  slipped 
it  back  again  in  his  pocket.  "  Come,  come,  captain," 
said  Captain  Jackson,  "  don't  try  any  more  jokes  of  that 
kind."  He  smoothed  down  his  hair  with  the  palm  of 
his  hand,  grinning  uneasily  as  he  did  so. 

"Come,  captain,"  said  Mr.  Knight,  "you  must  n't  act 
so,  indeed  you  must  n't.  If  we  're  to  talk  business 
we  must  be  serious  about  it  and  not  go  playing  with 
pistols  to  shoot  somebody  dead,  maybe,  before  we 
begin  upon  whatever  we  have  to  do.  Our  friend  Cap- 
tain Jackson  here  sails  to-morrow  morning,  wind  and 
weather  permitting,  and  here  's  the  letter  he  's  to  take 
up  to  Mr.  Parker.  He  understands  what  we  're  about, 
and  he  undertakes  to  take  the  letter  up  for  five  pounds." 

"  Why,  you  black-hearted  son  of  a  sea-cook ! "  Captain 
Blackbeard  roared  at  the  other  captain.  "  What  d'  ye 
mean  by  asking  five  pounds  to  take  a  bit  of  paper  like 
that  up  to  Virginia  ?  "  He  glowered  at  his  visitor  for  a 
moment  or  two,  and  the  skipper  laughed  uneasily. 
"Ye  call  yourself  an  honest  man,  do  ye!  Ay,  an 
honest  man  that  '11  rob  a  thief  and  say  't  was  not  him 
took  it  first.  Let  me  see  the  letter,"  said  he,  reaching 
out  his  hand  to   Mr.  Knight. 

Mr.  Knight  handed  him  the  letter,  and  the  pirate 
captain  drew  the  candle  over  toward  him  and  read  it 
slowly  and  deliberately.  "  Well,"  he  said,  as  he  folded 
it,  "  I  dare  say  't  is  good  enough." 

"  Trust  the  captain  to  tell  what 's  what,"  said  Hands, 
taking  the  pipe  out  of  his  mouth  as  he  spoke.  "He 
— he  can  read  a  let — ter  as  well  as  the  betht  o' — the 
best  o'  ye."  He  held  the  pipe  for  a  while,  looking  uncer- 
tainly into  the  bowl,  and  then  thrust  his  finger  into  it. 

"You  hold  yom*  noise.  Hands,"  said  Captain  Teach; 
"  you  're  in  your  liquor,  and  not  fit  to  talk." 

"  Well,  captain,"  said  Captain  Jackson,  "  I  '11  take 
the  letter  for  five  pounds ;  but  I  won't  take  it  for  a  far- 


IN   NORTH   CAROLINA  —  IN   VIRGINIA  215 

thing  less.  D'  ye  see,  I  run  a  risk  in  doing  it,  for  I*'m 
an  honest  man  —  I  am,  and  nobody  hath  yet  said  that 
black  is  the  white  of  my  eye.  And  if  I  'm  to  run  the 
risk  of  losing  my  honesty  by  dealing  with  pirates, —  if 
I  may  be  so  bold  as  for  to  say  so, — why,  five  pounds  is 
little  enough  to  ask  for  it." 

Captain  Teach  stared  at  him  for  awhile  in  silence  with- 
out replying.  "  Here,  captain,"  he  said,  "fill  a  glass  for 
yourself,"  and  he  pushed  the  bottle  and  a  glass  across 
the  table  toward  his  visitor.  "  Fill  your  glass,  Mr.  Sec- 
retary. You  villain ! " —  to  Captain  Jackson  — "  you  're 
worse  than  any  of  us  to  play  you  're  decent  and  honest, 
and  to  be  a  thief  upon  pirates." 

"  Why,  captain,"  said  Mr.  Knight,  "  I  believe  I  don't 
choose  to  drink  anything  to-night." 

"  By  heaven !  you  shall  drink,"  said  Captain  Teach, 
scowling  at  him,  and  then  Mr.  Knight  reluctantly  filled 
his  glass.  But  he  kept  a  keen  eye  upon  the  pirate  cap- 
tain, and  presently,  as  he  more  than  expected,  he  saw 
him  begin  fuml^ling  again  in  the  pockets  in  which  he 
carried  his  pistols.  And  then,  as  he  still  watched,  he 
was  certain  he  saw  the  glint  of  the  light  upon  the  barrel. 
Whether  he  was  right  or  wrong,  he  did  not  care  to  risk 
the  chance ;  neither  did  he  choose  to  say  anything  of 
what  he  saw,  fearing  lest  he  might  precipitate  some 
desperate  drunken  act,  and  perhaps  call  the  pirate's 
anger  down  upon  himself. 

"  Wait  a  bit,"  he  said,  "  I  want  to  go  up  on  deck  a 
minute — I  '11  be  down  again  by  and  by,"  and  he  edged 
his  way  out  along  the  bench. 

Captain  Teach  watched  him  gloomily  as  he  left  the 
cabin,  and  after  his  legs  had  disappeared  through  the 
companionway  he  still  sat  staring  for  a  while  out  of 
the  open  scuttle.  Then  he  turned  and  looked  glower- 
ingly  at  the  other  two.  Hands  was  trying  to  explain  to 
the  skipper  how  he  had  once  been  an  honest  man  him- 


216  JACK  BALLISTEK'S   FOKTUNES 

self.  "  Yes,  sir,"  he  was  saying,  "  I  'd  have  no  more  to 
do  with  such  bloody  villains  as  these  here  be  —  than  — 
than — but  what  was  an  honest  man  to  do  for  hisself  ?" 

"Well, I  don't  know,"  said  Captain  Jackson.  "Where 's 
Mr.  Knight  gone  f "  he  asked. 

Hands  looked  about,  as  though  observing  for  the  first 
time  that  he  was  not  there.  "  Why,  I  don't  know,"  he 
said.  "Mr.  Knight — where  be  Mr.  Knight  ? "  As  the  sail- 
ing-master spoke,  Blackbeard  leaned  a  little  forward, 
and  suddenly  blew  out  the  light  of  the  candle,  leaving 
the  cabin  in  utter  darkness.  The  next  moment  there 
came  a  double  dull,  stunning  report  from  beneath  the 
table,  and  Hands  yelled  out  in  instant  echo :  "  0  Lord ! 
I  'm  shot ! " 

Captain  Jackson  sat  for  a  moment,  dazed  by  the  sud- 
denness of  that  which  had  happened.  Then  he  scram- 
bled desperately  out  along  the  bench  upon  which  he  sat, 
and  ran  clattering  up  on  the  deck.  "  What 's  the  mat- 
ter f "  cried  Mr.  Knight,  who  had  turned  at  the  sound 
of  the  pistol-shots.     "  What 's  hapi^ened  ? " 

"  Oh ! "  panted  Captain  Jackson,  breathlessly,  "  I  don't 
believe  that  's  a  man ;  I  believe  it 's  a  devil.  He  blew 
out  the  light  and  shot  his  pistols  under  the  table.  He 's 
shot  Hands." 

The  two  stood  listening  for  a  moment  —  there  was 
perfect  silence  below,  only  for  the  now  regular  groaning 
of  the  wounded  man.  "Here,  fetch  that  lantern,"  Mr. 
Knight  called  out.  "There  's  somebody  shot  down  in 
the  cabin." 

The  men  from  the  boat  came  scrambling  over  the 
edge  of  the  sloop,  one  of  them  bringing  the  lantern  with 
him. 

Captain  Jackson  took  the  light  from  him  and  went  to 
the  open  companionway,  where  he  held  it  for  a  while, 
looking  down  into  the  yawning  darkness  beneath.  He 
hesitated  for  a  long  time  before  venturing  down.     "  Go 


IN   NOETH   CAEOLINA  —  IN   VIKGINIA  217 

on,"  said  Mr.  Knight.  "  Wliy  don't  you  go  on  ?  He  's 
shot  off  both  his  pistols  and  he  hath  no  more  to  shoot 
now." 

"Wliy,  to  be  sure,"  said  Captain  Jackson,  "I  don't 
like  to  venture  down  into  a  pit  with  such  a  man  as  that. 
There  's  no  knowing  what  he  '11  do." 

"  He  can't  do  any  more  harm,"  urged  Mr.  Knight. 
"  He  hath  shot  his  pistols  now,  and  that  's  all  there  is 
of  it." 

"  Oh  !  oh  ! "  groaned  the  wounded  man  from  out  of 
the  darkness. 

Finally,  after  a  great  deal  of  hesitation,  Captain  Jack- 
son went  slowly  and  reluctantly  down  below.  Mr.  Knight 
waited  for  a  moment,  and,  as  nothing  happened,  he 
followed  after,  and  the  two  sailors  who  had  come 
aboard  followed  after  him.  The  close  space  was  filled 
with  the  pungent  mist  of  gunpowder  smoke.  By  the 
light  of  the  lantern  they  saw  that  Captain  Teach  was 
sitting  just  where  he  had  sat  all  the  evening,  gloomy  and 
moody.  One  of  the  empty  pistols  lay  upon  the  table 
beside  him,  and  the  other  he  must  have  thrust  back 
again  into  his  pocket.  Hands  was  leaning  over  with  his 
face  lying  upon  the  table;  it  was  ghastly  white,  and 
there  were  drops  of  sweat  upon  his  forehead.  "  Oh ! " 
he  groaned,  "O  —  h ! "  He  was  holding  one  of  his  legs 
with  both  his  hands  under  the  table. 

"  Where  are  you  hurt  ?  "  said  Mr.  Knight. 

"  Oh ! "  groaned  Hands,  "  I  'm  shot  through  the 
knee." 

"Lookee,  captain,"  said  Mr.  Knight,  "you  've  done 
enough  harm  for  to-night.  D'  ye  mean  any  more  mis- 
chief, or  do  you  not  I " 

Cai^tain  Blackbeard  looked  hea\dly  at  him,  swaying 
his  head  from  side  to  side  like  an  angry  bull.  "  Why, 
how  can  I  do  any  more  mischief?"  he  said.  "Don't 
you  see  that  both  pistols  are  empty  ?    If  I  had  another 


218  JACK   BALLISTER'S   FORTUNES 

I  would  n't  swear  that  I  would  n't  blow  both  your  lives 
out." 

"  Let 's  see  where  you  're  hurt,"  said  Captain  Jackson 
to  Hands.     "  Can  you  walk  any  ? " 

"  No,"  groaned  Hands.  "  Ah  —  h  ! "  he  cried  more 
shrilly  and  quaveringly  as  Captain  Jackson  took  him 
by  the  arm  and  tried  to  move  him.  "  Let  me  alone  — 
let  me  alone  ! " 

"  You  've  got  to  get  out  of  here  somehow,"  said  Cap- 
tain Jackson.  "Come  here,  Jake  —  Ned!"  he  called 
out  to  the  two  sailors  who  stood  close  to  the  foot  of 
the  companion-ladder.  "Here,  help  me  get  this  man 
out ! " 

With  a  great  deal  of  groaning  and  dragging  and 
shuffling  of  feet  they  finally  dragged  Hands  out  from 
behind  the  table.  The  blood  was  flowing  down  from  his 
knee,  and  his  stocking  was  soaked  with  it.  Captain 
Teach  sat  gloomily  looking  on,  without  moving  from  his 
place  or  saying  anything. 

"  What  did  ye  shoot  the  man  for,  anyhow  I "  said  Mr. 
Knight,  as  he  stood  over  the  wounded  Hands,  who  now 
sat  on  the  floor  holding  his  shattered  leg  with  both 
hands,  swaying  back  and  forth  and  groaning. 

Captain  Blackbeard  looked  at  him  for  a  moment  or 
two  without  replying.  "  If  I  don't  shoot  one  of  them 
now  and  then,"  said  he,  thickly,  "  they  '11  forget  who 
I  be." 

The  letter  reached  Mr.  Richard  Parker  some  two 
weeks  later  at  Marlborough,  where  he  was  then  stay- 
ing. The  great  house  was  full  of  that  subdued  bustle 
that  speaks  so  plainly  of  illness.  It  was  Colonel  Parker. 
In  the  shock  and  despair  that  followed  the  abduction 
of  his  daughter,  the  gout  had  seized  him  again,  and 
since  then  the  doctor  had  been  in  the  house  all  the 
time.  "  How  is  my  brother  this  morning? "  Mr.  Richard 
Parker  had  asked  of  him. 


IN   NORTH   CAEOLINA  —  IN   VIRGINIA  219 

"Why,  sir,  I  see  but  very  little  change,"  said  the 
doctor. 

"  Yes,  I  know  that ;  but  can't  you  tell  me  whether 
the  little  change  is  for  the  better  or  worse  f " 

"  Why,  Mr.  Parker,  sir,  't  is  not  for  the  worse." 

"  Then  it  is  for  the  better  I " 

"  No,  I  do  not  say  that,  either,  sir." 

"  Well,  what  do  you  say,  then  ? "  said  Mr.  Parker,  his 
handsome  face  frowning. 

"  Why,  sir,  I  can  only  say  that  there  is  little  change. 
His  honor  does  not  suffer  so  much,  but  the  gout  still 
clings  to  his  stomach,  and  is  not  to  be  driven  out." 

It  was  some  little  time  after  the  doctor  had  so  spoken 
that  Mr.  Knight's  letter  was  given  to  Mr.  Parker.  He 
had  eaten  his  breakfast  alone,  and  the  plate  and  broken 
pieces  of  food  still  lay  spread  before  him  as  he  read  and 
re-read  the  note.  He  sat  perfectly  still,  without  a  shade 
of  change  passing  over  his  handsome  face.  "  'T  is  in- 
deed true,"  said  part  of  the  letter,  "  that  the  young  lady 
appears  to  be  really  ill,  and  if  her  father  does  not  pres- 
ently redeem  her  out  of  their  hands  she  may,  indeed, 
fall  into  a  decline ; "  and  then  was  added,  in  a  postscript 
to  the  passage,  "  This  is,  I  assure  ijou,  indeed  the  truth  ;^^ 
and  the  words  were  underscored. 

There  was  no  change  upon  his  face  when  he  read 
the  passage,  but  he  sat  thinking,  thinking,  thinking, 
holding  the  open  letter  in  his  hand,  his  gaze  turned, 
as  it  were,  inward  upon  himself.  Should  she  die,  what 
then!  There  could  be  no  doubt  as  to  how  it  would 
affect  him  if  father  and  daughter  should  both  die.  By 
his  father's  will,  the  Parker  estate  that  had  been  left  to 
his  brother  would  come  to  him  in  the  event  of  the  other's 
dying  without  heirs.  One  of  the  servants  came  into 
the  room  with  a  dish  of  tea.  Mr.  Parker  looked  heavily 
and  coldly  at  him,  his  handsome  face  still  impassive 
and  expressionless.    "  I  can  do  nothing  with  my  brother 


220  JACK   BALLISTEE'S   FOETUNES 

now,"  he  was  saying  to  himself  as  he  looked  at  the  ser- 
vant ;  "  he  is  too  ill  to  be  troubled  with  such  matters. 
Yes,  Nelly  will  have  to  take  her  chances  until  Birchall 
is  well  enough  for  me  to  talk  to  him.  I  meant  her  no 
harm,  and  if  she  falls  sick  and  dies,  't  is  a  chance  that 
may  happen  to  £inj  of  us=" 


k 


CHAPTER  XXIX 


AN   EXPEDITION 


BLACKBEARD  had  been  away  from  home  for  some 
days  in  Bath  Town  —  a  longer  stay  than  he  com- 
monly made.  Meantime  Jack  was  the  only  hale  man 
left  about  the  place.  He  and  Dred  had  been  turned 
out  of  their  beds  to  make  way  for  Hands,  who  had  been 
brought  ashore  to  the  house  from  the  sloop  when  he 
was  shot  through  the  leg.  That  had  been  four  or  five 
weeks  before,  and  since  then  Jack  and  Dred  had  slept 
in  the  kitchen.  It  was  very  hard  upon  Dred,  who  was 
weak  and  sick  with  the  fever. 

Then  one  morning  the  pirate  captain  suddenly 
returned  from  the  town. 

Jack  and  Betty  Teach  were  at  breakfast  in  the 
kitchen,  and  Dred  lay  upon  a  bench,  his  head  upon  a 
coat  rolled  into  a  pillow. 

"  You  'd  better  come  and  try  to  eat  something,"  said 
Betty  Teach.  "  I  do  believe  if  you  try  to  eat  a  bit  you 
could  eat,  and  to  my  mind  you  'd  be  the  better  for  it." 
Dred  shook  his  head  weakly  without  opening  his 
eyes.  Jack  helped  himself  to  a  piece  of  bacon  and  a 
large  yellow  yam.  "Now,  do  come  and  eat  a  bit," 
urged  the  woman. 

"  I  don't  want  anything  to  eat,"  said  Dred,  irritably. 
"  I  wish  you  'd  let  me  alone."    He  opened  his  eyes  for 
a  brief  moment  and  then  closed  them  again. 
_  "  Well,"  said  Betty,  "  you  need  n't  snap  a  body's  head 


221 


222  JACK  BALLISTEK'S  FOKTUNES 

off.  I  only  ask  you  to  eat  for  your  own  good  —  if  you 
don't  choose  to  eat,  why,  don't  eat.  You  '11  be  as  testy 
as  Hands  by  and  by  —  and  to  be  sure,  I  never  saw 
anybody  like  he  is  with  his  sore  leg.  You  'd  think  he 
was  the  only  man  in  the  world  who  had  ever  been  shot, 
the  way  he  do  go  on." 

"  'T  was  a  pretty  bad  hurt,"  said  Jack,  with  his  mouth 
full,  "  and  that 's  the  truth.  'T  is  a  wonder  to  me  how 
he  did  not  lose  his  leg.  'T  is  an  awful-looking  place." 
Dred  listened  with  his  eyes  closed. 

Just  then  the  door  opened  and  the  captain  came  in, 
and  then  they  ceased  sj^eaking.  He  looked  very  glum 
and  preoccupied.  Dred  opened  his  eyes  where  he  lay 
and  looked  heavily  at  him.  The  captain  did  not  notice 
any  of  the  three,  but  went  to  the  row  of  pegs  against  the 
wall  and  hung  up  his  hat,  and  then  picked  up  a  chair 
and  brought  it  over  to  the  table.  "  Have  you  had  your 
breakfast  yet,  Ned  1 "  his  wife  asked. 

"  No,"  he  said,  briefly.  He  sat  quite  impassively  as 
she  bustlingly  fetched  him  a  plate  and  a  knife  and  fork. 
"Where's  the  case  bottle?"  he  asked,  without  look- 
ing up. 

"  I  '11  fetch  it  to  you,"  she  said,  and  she  hurried  to  the 
closet  and  brought  out  the  squat  bottle  and  set  it  beside 
him.  He  poured  out  a  large  dram  for  himself  and  then 
turned  suddenly  to  Dred. 

"  Chris,"  he  said,  "  I  got  some  news  from  Charleston 
last  night.  Jim  Johnson's  come  on,  and  he  says  that  a 
packet  to  Boston  in  Massachusetts  was  about  starting 
three  or  four  days  after  he  left.  There 's  a  big  prize  in 
it,  I  do  believe,  and  I  've  sent  word  down  to  the  meet 
that  we  are  to  be  off  as  soon  as  may  be.  I  'm  going 
to  run  down  to-night." 

Jack  sat  listening  intently.  He  did  not  quite  under- 
stand what  was  meant,  and  he  was  very  much  interested 
to  comprehend.     He  could  gather  that  the  pirate  was 


AN   EXPEDITION  223 

going  away,  seemingly  on  an  expedition  of  some  sort, 
and  he  began  wondering  if  he  was  to  be  taken  along. 
Again  Dred  had  opened  his  eyes  and  was  lying  looking 
at  the  pirate  captain,  who,  upon  his  part,  regarded  the 
sick  man  for  a  steadfast  moment  or  two  without 
speaking.  " D' ye  think  ye  can  go  along?"  said  Black- 
beard  presently. 

"  Why,  no,"  said  Dred  weakly,  "  you  may  see  for 
yourself  that  I  can't  go  along.  How  could  I  go  along  ? 
Why,  I  be  a  bedrid  man." 

The  captain  stared  almost  angrily  at  him.  "  I  believe 
you  could  go  along,"  said  he,  "  if  you  'd  have  the  spirit 
to  try.  Ye  lie  here  all  day  till  you  get  that  full  of  the 
vapors  that  I  don't  believe  you  '11  ever  be  fit  to  get  up 
at  all.  Don't  you  think  you  could  try  ? "  Dred  shook 
his  head.  "  D'  ye  mean  to  say  that  you  won't  even 
make  a  try  to  go  along  f  D'  ye  mean  that  because  you  're 
a  little  bit  sick  you  choose  to  give  up  your  share  in 
the  venture  that '  11  maybe  make  the  fortune  of  us  all  ? " 

"I  can't  help  it,"  said  Dred,  and  then  he  groaned. 
"You  may  see  for  yourself  that  I  'm  not  fit  for  any- 
thing. I  would  n't  do  any  good,  and  't  would  only 
cripple  you  to  have  a  sick  man  aboard." 

"  But  how  am  I  to  get  along  without  you  ? "  said 
Blackbeard,  savagely,  "that  's  what  I  want  to  know. 
There  's  Hands  in  bed  with  his  broken  knee,  and  vou 
down  with  the  fever,  and  only  Morton  and  me  to  run 
everything  aboard  the  two  sloops.  For  they  do  say 
that  the  packet  's  armed  and  we  '11  have  to  take  both 
sloops." 

Jack  had  listened  with  a  keener  and  keener  interest. 
He  felt  that  he  must  know  just  what  all  the  talk  meant. 
"  Where  are  you  going,  captain  !  "  he  said.  "  What  are 
you  going  to  do  ?  " 

The  pirate  turned  a  lowering  look  upon  him.  "  You 
mind  your  own  business  and  don't  you  concern  your- 


224  JACK   BALLISTER'S   FOETUNES 

self  with  what  don't  concern  you,"  he  said.  Then  he 
added,  "Wherever  we  're  going,  you  're  not  going  along, 
and  you  may  rest  certain  of  that.  You  've  got  to  stay 
at  home  here  with  Betty,  for  she  can't  get  along  with 
the  girl  and  two  sick  men  to  look  after." 

"  He  means  he  's  going  on  a  cruise.  Jack,"  said  Dred 
from  the  bench.  "  They  're  going  to  cruise  outside  to 
stop  the  Charleston  packet." 

"  I  don't  see,"  said  Jack  to  the  pirate  captain,  "  that 
I  'm  any  better  off  here  than  I  was  up  in  Virginia.  I 
had  to  serve  Mr.  Parker  there  and  I  have  to  slave  for 
you  here  without  getting  anything  for  it." 

Blackbeard  glowered  heavily  at  him  for  a  few  moments 
without  speaking.  "  If  ye  like,"  he  said,  "  I  '11  send  ye 
back  to  Virginia  to  your  master.  I  dare  say  he  'd  be 
glad  enough  to  get  you  back  again."  And  then  Jack 
did  not  venture  to  say  anything  more.  "  Somebody  '11 
have  to  stay  to  look  after  all  these  sick  people,"  Black- 
beard  continued, "  and  why  not  you  as  well  as  another  I " 

The  pirate's  wife  had  left  the  table  and  was  busy 
getting  some  food  together  on  a  pewter  platter.  "  You 
take  this  up-stairs  to  the  young  lady.  Jack,"  she  said, 
"  while  I  get  something  for  Hands  to  eat.  I  never  see 
such  trouble  in  all  my  life  as  the  three  of  'em  make 
together  —  the  young  lady,  and  Hands,  and  Chris  Dred 
here." 

"Wlien  d'  ye  sail?"  Dred  asked  of  the  pirate  cap- 
tain, and  Jack  lingered,  with  the  plate  in  his  hand,  to 
hear  the  answer. 

"  Why,  just  as  soon  as  we  can  get  the  men  together. 
The  longer  we  leave  it  the  less  chance  we  '11  have  of 
coming  across  the  packet."  Jack  waited  a  little  while 
longer,  but  Blackbeard  had  fallen  to  at  his  breakfast, 
and  he  saw  that  no  more  was  to  be  said  just  then,  so 
he  went  up-stairs  with  the  food,  his  feet  clattering 
noisily  as  he  ascended  the  dark,  narrow  stairway. 


AN   EXPEDITION  225 

The  youug  lady  was  sitting  by  the  window,  leaning 
her  elbow  npon  the  sill.  Jack  set  the  platter  of  food 
upon  the  table  and  laid  the  iron  knife  and  two-pronged 
fork  beside  it.  She  had  by  this  time  become  well  ac- 
quainted with  him  and  the  other  members  of  the 
pirate's  household.  She  would  often  come  down-stairs 
when  Blackbeard  was  away  from  home,  and  would  sit 
in  the  kitchen  talking  with  them,  sometimes  even  laugh- 
ing at  what  was  said,  and,  for  the  time,  appearing  al- 
most cheerful  in  spite  of  her  captivity.  Several  times 
Jack  and  Betty  Teach  had  taken  her  for  a  walk  of  an 
evening  down  the  shore  and  even  around  the  point  in 
the  direction  of  Trivett's  plantation  house.  She  looked 
toward  him  now  as  he  entered  and  then  turned  listlessly 
to  the  window  again.  She  was  very  thin  and  white, 
and  she  wore  an  air  of  dejection  that  was  now  become 
habitual  with  her.  "  Do  you  know  whether  they  have 
heard  anything  from  Virginia  to-day  I "  she  asked. 

"  I  don't  believe  they  have,"  said  Jack.  "  At  least  I 
did  n't  hear  Captain  Teach  say  anything  of  the  sort. 
Maybe  by  the  time  he  comes  back  there  '11  be  a  letter." 

"  Comes  back  ?     Is  he,  then,  going  away  ? " 

"  Ay,"  said  Jack.  "  He  's  going  off  on  an  expedition 
that  '11  maybe  take  him  two  or  three  weeks." 

"  An  expedition  ?  "  she  said.  She  looked  at  Jack  as 
though  wondering  what  he  meant,  but  she  did  not  in- 
quire any  further.  "  A  matter  of  two  or  three  weeks," 
she  repeated,  almost  despairingly.  "  I  suppose,  then,  if 
a  letter  should  come  I  would  have  to  wait  all  that  time 
until  Captain  Teach  comes  back  again  ?  " 

"  And  cannot  you,  then,  have  patience  to  wait  for  a 
week  or  so,  who  have  been  here  now  a  month  ? "  said 
Jack. 

Just  then  came  the  sound  of  the  pirate  captain's 
heavy  tread  ascending  the  stairs. 

"  There  he  is,  now,"  said  Jack,  "  and  I  've  got  to  go." 

15 


226  JACK  BALLISTER'S   FORTUNES 

"Won't  you  ask  him  if  he  's  heard  anything  from 
Virginia  yet!" 

"  Why,  mistress,  it  won't  be  of  any  use  for  me  to  ask 
him;  he  won't  give  me  any  satisfaction,"  said  Jack; 
and  then  he  added, —  "but  I  will  if  you  want  me  to." 

Blackbeard  went  along  the  low,  dark  passageway 
and  into  the  room  where  Hands  lay,  and  Jack  followed 
him.  "Phew!"  said  the  pirate  captain,  and  he  went 
across  the  room  and  opened  the  window.  Hands,  un- 
conscious of  the  heavy,  fetid  smell  of  the  sick-room, 
was  sitting  propped  up  in  bed  with  a  pillow,  smoking  a 
pipe  of  tobacco.  He  was  very  restless  and  uneasy,  and 
had  evidently  heard  some  words  of  the  pirate's  talk 
with  Dred  down-stairs.  "  Well,  what  's  ado  now  ? "  he 
asked. 

"  Why,"  said  Blackbeard,  "  we  're  off  on  a  cruise." 

"  Off  on  a  cruise  ?  "  said  Hands. 

"Yes,"  said  Blackbeard,  as  he  sat  himself  down  on 
the  edge  of  the  bed,  "  I  was  up  in  town  last  night  when 
Jim  Johnson  came  up.  He  'd  just  come  back  from 
Charleston  and  brought  news  of  the  Boston  packet  sail- 
ing. He  says  it  was  the  talk  there  that  there  was  a 
chist  o'  money  aboard." 

Hands  laid  aside  his  pipe  of  tobacco  and  began  swear- 
ing with  all  his  might.  "  What  did  ye  mean,  anyway," 
he  said,  "  to  shoot  me  wantonly  through  the  knee  ? " 
He  tried  to  move  himself  in  the  bed.  "M-m-m!"  he 
gi'unted,  groaning.  He  clenched  the  fist  upon  which 
he  rested,  making  a  wry  face  as  he  shifted  himself  a 
little  on  the  bed. 

The  pirate  captain  watched  him  curiously  as  he 
labored  to  move  himself.  "  How  do  you  feel  to-day  ? " 
he  asked. 

"Oh!  I  feel  pretty  well,"  said  Hands,  groaning,  "  only 
when  I  try  to  move  a  bit.  I  reckon  I  '11  never  be  able 
to  use  my  leg  agin  to  speak  on." 


AN   EXPEDITION  227 

Betty  Teach  came  in  with  a  platter  of  food.  "  What 
ha'  ye  got  there  f  "  asked  the  sick  man,  craning  his  neck. 

"A  bit  of  pork  and  some  potatoes,"  she  said. 

"Potatoes  and  pork,"  he  growled.  "'T  is  always 
potatoes  and  pork,  and  nothing  else."  She  made  no 
reply,  but  set  the  platter  down  upon  the  bed  and  stood 
watching  him.     "  When  do  you  sail  ?  "  asked  Hands. 

"  As  soon  as  we  can,"  said  Blackbeard,  briefly. 

"  The  young  lady  wants  to  know  if  you  've  heard 
anything  yet  from  Virginia,"  said  Jack. 

The  pirate  looked  scowlingly  at  him.  "  I  '11  tell  her 
when  I  hear  anything,"  he  said  shortly. 

Blackbeard  ate  his  dinner  ashore,  and  it  was  some 
time  afternoon  before  the  sloop  was  ready  to  sail.  Some 
half-dozen  men  had  come  up,  during  the  morning,  in  a 
rowboat  from  somewhere  down  the  sound.  They  had 
hoisted  sail  aboard  the  sloop,  and  now  all  was  ready 
for  departure.  The  clouds  had  blown  away,  and  the  au- 
tumn sun  shone  warm  and  strong.  Dred  had  come  down 
from  the  house  to  see  the  departure,  and  by  and  by 
Blackbeard  appeared,  carrying  the  guitar,  which  he 
handed  very  carefully  into  the  boat  before  he  himself 
stepped  down  into  it.  Dred  and  Jack  stood  on  the  edge 
of  the  landing,  watching  the  rowboat  as  it  pulled  away 
from  the  wharf  toward  the  sloop,  the  captain  sitting  in 
the  stern.  Two  or  three  men  were  already  hoisting  the 
anchor,  the  click-clicking  of  the  capstan  sounding 
sharply  across  the  water.  The  long  gun  in  the  bows 
pointed  out  ahead  silently  and  grimly.  Presently  the 
small  boat  was  alongside  the  sloop,  and  the  captain 
scrambled  over  the  rail,  the  others  following.  Still 
Jack  and  Dred  stood  on  the  end  of  the  wharf,  watching 
the  sloop  as  the  bow  came  slowly  around.  Then,  the 
sail  filling  with  the  wind,  it  heeled  heavily  over,  and 
with  gathering  speed  swept  sluggishly  away  from  its 
moorings,  leaving  behind  it  a  swelling  wake,  in  which 


228  JACK   BALLISTER'S   FORTUNES 

towed  the  yawl  boat  that  had  brought  the  captain 
aboard.  They  watched  it  as  it  ran  further  and  further 
out  into  the  river,  growing  smaUer  and  smaller  in  the 
distance,  and  then,  when  a  great  way  off,  coming  about 
again.  They  watched  it  until,  with  the  wind  now  astern, 
it  slipped  swiftly  in  behind  the  jutting  point  of  swamp 
and  was  cut  off  by  the  intervening  trees.  The  two  stood 
inertly  for  a  while  in  the  strange  silence  that  seemed  to 
fall  upon  everji;hing  after  all  the  bustle  of  the  departure. 
The  water  lapped  and  splashed  and  gurgled  against  the 
wharf,  and  a  flock  of  blue  jays  from  the  wet  swamp  on 
the  other  side  of  the  creek  begun  suddenly  scream- 
ing out  their  noisy,  strident  clamor.  Presently  Dred 
groaned.  "I  'm  going  back  to  the  house,"  he  said. 
"  I  ain't  fit  to  be  out,  and  that 's  a  fact.  I  never  had 
a  fever  to  lay  me  out  like  this.  I  'm  going  up  to  the 
house,  and  I  ain't  going  to  come  out  ag'in  till  I  'm  fit 
to  be  out." 


CHAPTER  XXX 


THE   ATTEMPT 


IT  was  a  chill  and  drizzly  morning,  five  or  six  weeks 
after  the  pirates  had  gone  off  on  their  cruise ;  Jack 
had  been  out-of-doors  to  fetch  in  some  firewood,  and  he 
now  sat  near  the  chimney-place,  drying  his  coat  before 
the  crackling  fire,  holding  out  the  shaggy  garment,  and 
watching  it  steam  and  smoke  in  the  heat.  Dred  was 
lying  stretched  out  on  the  bench  with  his  eyes  closed, 
though  whether  or  not  he  was  asleep  Jack  could  not  tell. 
His  fever  had  left  him,  and  he  was  now  growing  stronger 
every  day.  During  his  sickness  he  had  grown  into  a 
habit  of  indolence,  and  he  spent  a  great  deal  of  his  time 
lounging  inertly  thus  upon  the  bench  in  the  kitchen. 
The  young  lady  had  not  been  down  that  morning. 
Betty  Teach  was  moving  about  up-stairs,  and  presently 
Jack,  as  he  sat  thus  drying  his  coat,  heard  her  tap  on 
the  door  of  Miss  Eleanor  Parker's  room;  then,  after 
an  interval  of  waiting,  tap  again ;  then,  after  another 
interval,  open  the  door  and  go  into  the  room. 

Suddenly  there  came  the  sound  of  her  feet  running 
—  then  of  a  window  fiung  up.  Then  she  called  out, 
"Dred!  Dred!"  Her  voice  was  shrill  with  a  sudden 
keen  alarm,  and  Jack  started  up  from  where  he  sat,  still 
holding  his  coat  in  his  hand.  His  first  thought  was  that 
something  had  happened  to  the  j'oung  lady,  and  then, 
with  a  thrill,  a  second  thought  came  to  him,  he  knew 
not  why,  that  maybe  she  was  dead. 


229 


230  JACK  BALLISTER'S  FORTUNES 

Dred  raised  himself  upon  Ms  elbow  as  Betty  Teach 
came  running  down-stairs.  The  next  moment  she  burst 
into  the  kitchen.  "  O  Dred  ! "  she  cried,  her  voice  still 
high  and  keen  with  excitement,  "  she  's  gone  ! " 

"  Gone  ! "  said  Dred,  "  who  's  gone  ? "  He  asked  the 
question,  though  he  knew  instantly  whom  she  meant. 

"  The  young  lady !  "  cried  Betty  Teach,  wi-inging  her 
hands.  "  She  's  run  away.  I  went  to  her  room  just 
now,  to  see  if  she  was  up.  I  knocked,  but  she  would  n't 
answer.  Then  I  went  in  and  I  found  she  'd  gone — there 
was  her  bed,  as  empty  as  could  be." 

"Why,"  said  Jack,  "I  remember,  now,  I  saw  this 
morning  that  the  door  was  unbolted,  but  I  did  n't  think 
anything  of  it  then.  She  must  just  have  opened  it  for 
herself  and  walked  out." 

Neither  Dred  nor  Betty  Teach  paid  any  attention  to 
what  he  said.  "  0  Dred !  "  cried  Betty,  "  won't  you  try 
to  do  something  ?  Won't  you  come  up-stairs,  and  see  for 
yourself?"  She  had  begun  to  weep,  now,  and  was  wiping 
the  tears  from  her  face  with  her  apron.  ''  Oh,"  she  wept, 
"  what  will  Ned  say  ?  He  '11  kill  me  if  he  finds  this  out." 

"  Well,  well,"  said  Dred,  "  't  is  no  use  making  such  a 
hubbub  about  it.  That  won't  do  any  good.  Let 's  go 
up  and  take  a  look  at  her  room.  She  can't  be  far  away." 
He  arose  heavily  and  laboriously  from  the  bench  as  he 
spoke,  and  led  the  way  up-stairs  to  the  young  lady's 
room.  He  went  to  the  bed  and  laid  his  hand  upon  it. 
"  Ay,"  he  said,  "  she  's  gone  sure  enough,  and  what 's 
more,  she  's  been  gone  some  time,  for  the  bed  's  dead 
cold."  He  looked  about  the  room  as  he  spoke.  "Why, 
look  yonder!"  he  cried  out;  "the  pore  young  thing 
ain't  even  took  her  shoes  with  her.  I  dare  say  she  was 
af  eard  of  making  a  noise,  and  so  she  's  gone  off  without 
'em — gone  in  her  stocking-feet,  and  on  this  cold,  wet 
day,  too.  Have  you  told  Hands  yet  I"  he  asked,  turn- 
ing to  the  pirate's  wife. 


THE   ATTEMPT  231 

"  No,  I  have  n't,"  she  said. 

"  Then  come  along  and  let 's  tell  him,  and  see  what 
he  has  to  say  about  it." 

As  they  went  along  the  passageway  Betty  Teach 
continued  wringing  her  hands :  "  Oh,  lacky,  lacky  me  ! " 
she  wailed.  "  What  '11  Ned  say  when  he  finds  this  out  1 
He  's  like  enough  to  be  back  at  any  time,  now,  and 
he  '11  kill  me,  he  will,  if  he  finds  out  we  've  let  her  get 
away." 

"Well,  he  don't  know  anything  about  it  as  yet," 
said  Dred,  roughly,  "  and  till  he  does,  't  is  no  use  cry- 
ing for  it." 

Hands  was  still  bedridden  with  his  broken  knee.  As 
Dred,  followed  by  Jack  and  Betty  Teach,  entered  the 
room,  they  found  him  lying  propped  with  his  elbow  on 
the  pillow,  and  his  head  on  his  hand,  smoking  the  pipe 
that  now  seemed  never  to  leave  his  lips.  He  had  heard 
the  stir  and  the  sound  of  voices  below,  and  almost  as 
soon  as  Dred  opened  the  door  he  asked  what  was  the 
ado.  Dred  told  him,  and  he  listened,  sucking  every 
now  and  then  at  his  pipe,  nodding  his  head  at  intervals, 
as  though  he  had  already  sm-mised  what  had  occurred. 
"  In  her  stocking-feet ! "  he  repeated,  as  Dred  concluded. 
"  Well,  well !  to  be  sure  !  In  her  stocking-feet !  Why, 
then,  she  can't  go  far." 

"  In  course  not,"  said  Dred. 

"  I  don't  know  why  she  ran  away,"  cried  Betty  Teach. 
"  She  did  n't  make  no  sign  of  running  away  last  night. 
I  took  her  supper  up  to  her,  and  she  talked  for  a  long 
while  with  me.  She  asked  me  then  if  there  'd  been  any 
news  from  Virginia,  and  then  she  wondered  whether  Ned 
could  n't  take  her  back  without  waiting  to  hear  news, 
but  she  did  n't  seem  to  think  anything  of  running 
away." 

They  listened  to  her  with  a  sort  of  helpless  silence  as 
she  spoke. 


232  JACK  BALLISTEE'S   FOKTUNES 

"  "Well,"  repeated  Hands,  after  a  while,  "  she  can't 
have  gone  far  in  her  stocking-feet.  I  tell  you  what  't  is, 
Dred,  I  believe  she  be  gone  up  toward  the  town.  'T  is 
most  likely  she  'd  think  first  of  going  there.  If  she 
did  n't  go  there  she  'd  go  down  to  Jack  Trivett's  or  Jim 
Dobbs's,  they  being  the  nighest  houses  t'  other  way.  And 
then,  if  she  goes  that  way,  why  they  knows  all  about 
her,  and  they  '11  send  her  back  or  send  word  back.  If 
she  goes  up  toward  the  town  she  can't  go  no  furder 
than  the  little  swamp.  If  I  was  you,  I  'd  go  up  that 
there  way  on  the  chance  of  finding  her." 

Dred  sat  for  a  while  on  the  edge  of  the  bed  in  thought- 
ful silence.  "  Well,"  he  said,  "  I  reckon  you  be  about 
right,  and  I  'd  better  go  and  look  for  her."  Then  he 
groaned.  "  This  be  ill  weather  for  a  fever-struck  man 
to  be  out  in,"  he  said,  "  but  summat  's  got  to  be  done. 
If  for  no  other  reason,  we  can't  let  the  pore  young  lady 
stay  out  to  be  soaked  in  the  rain.  You  '11  have  to  go 
with  me.  Jack." 

The  mistv  drizzle  had  changed  to  a  fine,  thin  rain 
when  Jack  and  Dred  started  out  upon  their  quest.  They 
walked  along  together,  side  by  side,  Dred  lagging  some- 
what with  the  dregs  of  his  weakness.  "  We  '11  strike 
along  the  shore,"  he  said,  i^anting  a  little  as  he  walked, 
"  and  then,  from  the  mouth  of  the  branch,  we  '11  beat  up 
along  the  edge  of  the  swamp.  If  we  don't  find  her  ag'in' 
we  get  up  as  far  as  the  cross  branch,  we  '11  skirt  back 
into  the  country  and  see  if  she  's  at  Dol)bs's  or  Trivett's 
plantation-houses.  As  for  going  to  the  town,  why,  what 
Hands  says  is  true  enough;  she  could  n't  cross  the 
swamp  with  her  shoes  on,  let  alone  in  her  stocking- 
feet." 

Jack's  every  faculty  was  intent  upon  the  search,  but, 
by  a  sort  of  external  consciousness,  he  sensed  and  j)er- 
ceived  his  surroundings  with  a  singular  clearness.  The 
bank  dipped  down  rather  sharply  toward  a  narrow  strip 


THE   ATTEMPT  233 

of  swamp,  threaded  midway  by  a  little  sluggish,  lake- 
like stream  of  water.  Oaks  and  cypress-trees  grew  up 
from  the  soft,  spongy  soil.  The  boles  of  the  trees  were 
green  with  moss,  and  here  and  there  long  streamers  of 
gray  moss  hung  from  the  branches.  Fallen  trees,  partly 
covered  with  moss,  partly  buried  in  the  swampy  soil, 
stretched  out  gaunt,  lichen-covered  branches  like  with- 
ered arms,  also  draped  with  gray  hanging  filaments. 
Here  or  there  little  pools  of  transparent,  coffee-colored 
water  caught  in  reflection  a  fragment  of  the  gray  sky 
through  the  leaves  overhead,  and  gleamed  each  like  a 
spot  of  silver  in  the  setting  of  dusky  browns  of  the 
surrounding  swamp. 

Dred  walked  upon  the  border  of  the  drier  land,  Jack 
closer  down,  along  the  edge  of  the  swamj).  His  feet 
sucked  and  sopped  in  the  soft,  wet  earth,  and  now  and 
then  he  leaped  from  a  mossy  root  to  a  hummock  of 
earth,  from  a  hummock  of  earth  to  a  mossy  root.  The 
wet  wind  rushed  and  soughed  overhead  through  the 
leaves,  and  then  a  fine,  showery  spray  would  fall  from 
above,  powdering  his  rough  coat  with  j)articles  of  mois- 
ture.    The  air  was  full  of  a  rank,  damp,  earthy  smell. 

"  D'  ye  keep  a  sharp  lookout,"  called  Dred  to  him. 

"  Ay,  ay,"  answered  Jack. 

They  again  went  on  for  a  little  distance  without 
speaking.  "I  'm  a-going  to  stop  awhile,  till  I  light 
my  pipe,"  Dred  called  out  presently ;  "  the  damp  seems 
to  get  into  my  nose ;  't  is  like  a  lump  of  ice."  He  had 
filled  his  pipe  with  tobacco,  and  now  he  squatted  down 
and  began  striking  his  flint  and  steel  while  Jack  went 
on  forward  through  the  swamp. 

He  had  gone,  perhaps,  thirty  or  forty  paces  when 
he  suddenly  caught  sight  of  a  little  heap  of  wet  and 
sodden  clothes  that  lay  upon  the  ground,  partly  hidden 
by  the  great  ribbed  roots  of  a  cypress-tree.  It  looked 
like  some  cast-off  clothing  that  had  been  thrown  away 


234  JACK  BALLISTEE'S   FOKTUNES 

in  the  swamp.  He  wondered  dnlly  for  a  moment  how 
it  came  there,  and  then,  with  a  sudden  start — almost  a 
shock — reahzed  what  it  must  be.  He  hurried  forward, 
the  branches  and  roots  hidden  by  the  mossy  earth 
crackhng  beneath  his  feet.  "  Dred ! "  he  called  out, 
"Dred — come  here,  Dred!" 

"  Wliere  away?"  called  Dred,  his  voice  sounding  res- 
onantly through  the  hollow  woods. 

"  Here  ! "  answered  Jack,  "  come  along ! " 

The  next  moment  he  came  around  the  foot  of  a 
cypress-tree,  and  found  himself  looking  down  at  the 
fugitive — almost  with  a  second  shock  at  finding  what 
he  had  expected. 

She  did  not  move.  Her  face  was  very  white,  and  she 
looked  up  at  him  with  her  large,  dark  eyes  as  he  stood 
looking  down  at  her.  A  shudder  passed  over  her,  and 
then  presently  another.  She  said  nothing,  nor  did  he  say 
anything  to  her.  Her  skirts  were  soaked  and  muddy 
with  the  swamp  water  through  which  she  must  have 
tried  to  drag  herself.  She  sat  with  her  feet  doubled 
under  her,  crouched  together.  Her  hair  was  dishev- 
eled, one  dark,  cloudy  lock  falling  down  across  her 
forehead.  Somehow  Jack  could  not  bear  to  look  at 
her  any  longer;  then  he  walked  slowly  away  toward 
Dred,  who  now  came  hurrying  up  to  where  he  was. 
"  Wliere  is  she  ?  "  said  Dred  to  Jack  when  the  two  met. 

"  Over  yonder,"  said  Jack,  pointing  toward  the  tree. 
He  was  profoundly  stirred  by  what  he  had  seen.  She 
had  not  looked  like  herself.  She  had  looked  like  some 
forlorn,  hunted  animal.  Wlien  Jack  came  back  with 
Dred  they  found  her  still  sitting  in  the  same  place,  just 
as  he  had  left  her.  Dred  stood  looking  down  at  her 
for  a  moment  or  two.  Perhaps  he  also  felt  something 
of  that  which  had  so  moved  Jack.  Then  he  -stooped 
and  laid  his  hand  upon  her  shoulder.  "You  must  come 
back  with  us,  mistress,"  he  said.     "  You  should  n't  ha* 


"they  found  her  still  sitting  in  the  sAiiE  place/' 


THE  ATTEMPT  235 

tried  to  run  away ;  indeed,  yon  should  n't.  How  long 
have  you  been  out  here?" 

Her  lips  moved,  but  she  could  not  speak  at  first.  "I 
don't  know,"  said  she  presently,  in  a  low,  dull  voice. 
"A  long  time,  I  think.  I  wanted  to  get  away,  but  I 
could  n't  get  through  the  swamp;  then  I  was  afraid 
to  go  back  again."  She  put  her  hand  up  to  her  eyes 
nervously,  and  pressed  it  there,  and  her  lips  began 
to  quiver  and  writhe.  And  again  she  shuddered,  as 
though  with  the  cold. 

"In  course  you  could  n't,"  said  Dred,  soothingly, 
"and  indeed  you  should  n't  ha'  tried,  mistress.  'T  is 
enough  to  kill  the  likes  of  you  to  be  out  in  this  sort  of 
weather,  and  in  your  stocking-feet.  There,  don't  you 
take  on  so,  mistress.  Come,  come,  don't  cry  no  more. 
You  come  back  to  the  house  with  us,  and  get  some 
dry  clothes  on  you,  and  you  '11  feel  all  well  again. 
Why,  she  's  cold  to  the  marrow,"  he  said,  as  he  helped 
her  to  rise.     "  Lend  her  your  coat.  Jack." 

Jack  instantly  began  stripping  off  his  coat,  eager  to 
do  something  to  show  his  sjTnpathy.  She  made  no  re- 
sistance, but  stood  with  her  hands  pressed  to  her  eyes 
as  Jack  put  the  coat  over  her  shoulders  and  buttoned 
it  under  her  chin. 

Betty  Teach  opened  the  door  and  stood  waiting  as 
they  came  up  the  pathway  to  the  house.  "You  've 
found  her,  have  you  f  "  she  said,  and  she  trembled  visi- 
bly with  joy.  "  Oh  !  what  would  Ned  say  if  he  was  to 
find  all  this  here  out!" 

"Why,  he  need  n't  know  anything  about  it,"  said 
Dred,  roughly,  as  he  and  Jack  assisted  the  young  lady 
into  the  house.  "  Just  you  say  nothing  about  it  to  the 
captain,  you  too — d'  ye  hear.  Jack?  I  '11  see  Hands 
myself  and  ask  him  that  he  don't  say  anything." 

Jack  had  walked  all  the  way  back  from  the  swamp 


236  JACK  BALLISTEK'S   FOKTUNES 

in  his  shirt-sleeves.  He  was  damp  and  chilled  with  the 
fine  rain,  and  he  sat  himself  close  to  the  fire,  and  began 
warming  his  hands,  hardly  knowing  that  he  was  doing 
so.  He  had  been  most  profoundly  moved  by  what  he 
had  seen,  and  his  mind  was  full  of  thinking  about  it. 
He  was  glad  that  he  was  wet  with  the  rain  for  her 
sake.  Presently  Betty  Teach  retm'ned  from  taking  the 
young  lady  to  her  room,  and  he  roused  himself  from 
his  thoughts  to  hear  the  pirate's  wife  tell  Dred  that  she 
had  put  her  to  bed.  "You  'd  better  take  something 
warm  up  to  her,"  Dred  said,  and  Betty  Teach  replied : 
"  Yes,  I  will.  D'  ye  think  she  'd  drink  a  tumbler  of  grog 
if  I  mixed  it  I "  "Ay,  she  '11  have  to,"  said  Dred.  "  'T  was 
enough  to  kill  the  likes  of  her  to  be  setting  out  in  the 
wet  swamp  like  that."  Jack  listened  for  the  moment,  and 
then  his  thoughts  went  back  to  her  again.  He  recalled 
how  she  had  pressed  her  hands  over  her  eyes,  and  how 
her  lips  had  quivered  and  writhed  as  he  buttoned  the 
coat  at  her  throat.  His  hand  had  touched  her  cold 
wet  chin,  and  there  was  a  strong  pleasure  in  the  recol- 
lection. Then  he  again  aroused  from  his  thoughts  to 
hear  Dred  saying,  "  Take  care  what  you  're  about ! 
You  're  making  it  too  strong,"  and  then  he  saw  that 
Betty  Teach  was  busy  mixing  a  hot  drink  for  the 
young  lady,  pouring  rum  from  the  pirate's  case-bottle 
into  the  hot  water,  and  stiring  it  round  and  round. 


CHAPTER  XXXI 


THE   RETURN 


I 


T  was  at  the  dead  of  the  same  night  when  Jack  began 

to  be  distnrbed  in  his  sleep  by  iterated  poundings 
uj)on  the  floor  overhead.  He  heard  the  noise,  and  for 
some  time  it  mingled  in  his  dreams  before  he  began 
recognizing  it  with  his  waking  thoughts.  He  raised 
himself  upon  his  elbow  where  he  lay  upon  the  floor. 
Dred,  too,  was  sitting  up,  and  there  was  the  sound  of 
stirring  overhead.  They  could  hear  the  patter  of  bare 
feet,  and  presently  Betty  Teach  came  running  down- 
stairs. The  next  moment  she  burst  into  the  room,  clad 
in  a  blanket  which  she  had  wi'apped  around  her.  "  The 
sloop  's  come  back!"  she  cried.  "Hands  heard  'em, 
and  he  's  been  pounding  on  the  floor  with  his  shoe  for 
a  deal  of  a  while,  but  ye  slept  like  ye  were  dead." 

Even  before  she  had  ended  speaking.  Jack  was  pull- 
ing on  his  shoes.  He  tied  the  thongs  hurriedly  and  then 
slipped  on  his  coat  and  hat.  He  looked  up  at  the  clock 
as  he  ran  off  out  of  the  house,  leaving  Dred  dressing 
more  slowly  and  deliberately,  and  he  saw  that  it  was 
half-past  twelve. 

The  rain  was  still  driving  in  fine  sheets,  and  there  was 
the  constant  sound  of  running  water,  and  every  now  and 
then  the  dropping  and  pattering  of  many  drops  from  the 
trees  as  they  bowed  gustily  before  the  wind.  There  were 
lights  moving  about  down  at  the  landing-place,  and 
there  were  two  other  lights  twinkling  out  over  the  har- 

237 


238  JACK  BALLISTER'S   FORTUNES 

bor,  where  the  sloop  evidently  lay,  the  bright  sparks 
reflected  in  long,  restless  trickles  of  light  across  the 
broken  face  of  the  water.  Jack  could  see  that  there 
were  figures  moving  about  the  landing  wharf,  and  he 
started  to  go  thither. 

He  was  still  dazed  and  bewildered  with  the  sudden 
waking,  and  ever>i;hing  seemed  to  him  to  be  singularly 
strange  and  unreal ;  what  he  saw  took  on  the  asj^ect  of 
night-time,  but  things  that  had  happened  the  day  be- 
fore mingling  oddly  with  those  of  the  present — the  spit- 
ting of  the  fine,  chiU  rain  blending  with  a  recollection 
of  Miss  Eleanor  Parker  as  she  crouched  at  the  foot  of 
the  cypress-tree.  A  cock  crew  in  the  rainy  night,  and 
the  sound  was  singularly  pregnant  of  the  wet  darkness 
of  the  unborn  day. 

He  had  gone  only  a  little  distance  when  he  suddenly 
met  two  dark  figures  walking  up  toward  the  house 
through  the  long,  wet,  rain-sodden  grass.  One  was 
Captain  Teach,  the  other  was  Morton,  the  gunner.  They 
stopped  abruptly  as  they  met  him,  and  the  pirate  cap- 
tain asked  him  where  he  was  going.  Jack  could  tell  hj 
the  sound  of  his  voice  that  he  was  in  one  of  his  most 
savagely  lowering  humors.  "  I  'm  going  down  to  the 
landing,"  Jack  answered. 

"  You  're  going  to  do  nothing  of  the  sort,"  said  the 
pirate  captain's  hoarse  husky  voice  from  out  of  the  dark- 
ness. "  You  're  going  straight  back  to  the  house  again." 
And  then,  as  Jack  hesitated  a  moment,  "D'  ye  hear 
me?"  he  cried  out,  with  a  sudden  savage  truculence, 
"you  go  back  to  the  house  again,"  and  Jack  did  not 
dare  to  disobey. 

Betty  Teach  met  them  at  the  door,  and  they  all  went 
directly  into  the  kitchen,  where  a  freshly-laid  bunch  of 
faggots  crackled  upon  the  fire,  dispelling  the  chill  damp- 
ness of  the  night.  The  pirate  captain,  without  offering 
any  word  of  greeting  to  Dred,  turned  to  his  wife  and 


THE  RETURN  239 

asked  her  if  she  had  heard  anything  from  Virginia  con- 
cerning the  young  lady. 

"  No,"  she  said,  "  not  a  word." 

"  What ! "  cried  out  the  pirate,  "  are  you  sui*e  1  Noth- 
ing yet  f  Why,  to  be  sure  there  must  be  something. 
It  has  been  nigh  six  weeks  since  I  left." 

"  There  's  nothing  come  yet,"  said  his  wife. 

Blackbeard's  face  lowered  at  her  as  though  he  thought 
it  was  somehow  her  fault  that  no  letter  had  come,  but 
he  said  nothing.  All  this  while  Dred  was  standing  be- 
fore the  fire  as  though  waiting,  and  Jack  knew  it  must 
be  that  he  could  hardly  contain  his  desu*e  to  learn 
something  about  the  fortune  of  the  expedition.  But 
however  great  was  his  desire  to  know,  he  asked  no 
immediate  question. 

"  How  be  you,  Dred  I "  said  Morton  at  last. 

"  I  'm  better  now,"  said  Dred,  "  and  able  to  be  about 
a  bit."  He  opened  his  mouth  as  though  to  speak,  when 
the  pirate  captain  cut  in : 

"  How  's  Hands  getting  on  f " 

"  He  's  still  abed,"  said  Dred,  "  but  he  's  a  deal  bet- 
ter than  he  was.  He  stood  on  his  leg  yesterday  for 
nigh  an  hour."  Then  at  last  he  asked,  "  What  luck  did 
you  have  ? "  The  question  was  directed  at  Blackbeard, 
and  Jack  and  Betty  Teach  stood  waiting  breathlessly 
for  the  reply,  but,  in  his  sullen,  evil  humor,  the  pirate 
captain  did  not  choose  to  answer.  He  turned  away,  flung 
his  hat  down  upon  the  bench,  and  began  slowly  peeling 
off  his  rough  coat,  wet  and  heavy  with  the  fine  rain. 
Dred  eyed  him  for  a  second  or  two,  and  then  he  turned 
to  Morton.  "What  luck  did  ye  have,  Morton?"  he  asked. 

Morton  was  a  slow,  heavy,  taciturn  man,  very  unready 
of  speech.  The  rej)ly  came  almost  as  though  reluc- 
tantly from  him,  but  he  could  not  hide  the  triumphant 
exultation  that  swelled  his  heart.  "  'T  were  good 
enough  luck,  Chris  Dred" —  a  pause — "  ay,  't  were  good 


240  JACK  ballistee's  foetunes 

luck.  You  lost  the  chance  of  your  life  for  a  big  prize 
this  time,  when  you  stayed  ashore  —  that 's  what  you 
did,  Chris  Dred." 

"  Did  you,  then,  come  across  the  packet  ? "  asked 
Dred,  impatiently;  and  again  Jack  and  Betty  waited 
breathlessly  for  the  reply.  Morton  was  filhng  his  pipe. 
"  'T  were  better  than  t  hat,"  he  said,  slowly.  "  'T  were 
better  than  any  packet  betwixt  here  and  Halifax.  'T 
were  a  French  bark  loaded  full  of  sugar  and  rum  from 
Martinique ;  that 's  what  it  were,  Chris  Dred." 

Then,  with  many  pauses  in  his  slow  narrative,  and 
every  now  and  then  a  few  quick,  strong  puffs  at  his 
pipe,  he  told  how  the  two  pirate  sloops  —  the  sloop 
from  Bath  Town  and  the  other  from  Ocracock  —  had 
captured  the  French  bark  with  its  —  at  that  time  — 
precious  cargo  of  sugar  and  rum;  that  prize  that  after- 
ward became  so  famous  in  the  annals  of  the  American 
pirates ;  that  prize  so  valuable  that  it  was  impossible 
that  Blackbeard  should  be  allowed  to  keep  it  for  his 
own  without  having  to  fight  the  law  for  it. 

The  pirate  captain,  in  his  sworn  statement  made  be- 
fore Governor  Eden  a  few  weeks  later,  said  that  the  two 
sloops  had  found  the  bark  adrift  in  the  western  ocean; 
and  Governor  Eden  had  then  condemned  it,  as  being 
without  an  owner  and  belonging  to  those  who  had 
brought  it  in. 

It  was  a  very  different  story  that  Jack  listened  to 
that  night  as  Morton  told  it  in  his  slow  sentences,  sit- 
ting in  the  red  light  of  the  crackling  faggot  fire.  Morton 
said  that  the  Frenchman  had  fought  for  over  half  an 
hour  before  he  had  surrendered.  Two  of  the  pirates 
had  been  killed  and  four  wounded,  and  the  Frenchman 
had  lost  thirteen  in  killed  and  wounded.  He  said  that 
there  were  a  number  of  Englishmen  aboard  —  cast- 
aways, whom  the  Frenchmen  had  picked  up  off  a  water- 
logged bark  that  had  been  driven  out  of  its  course  to 


THE   RETURN  241 

the  sonthward  in  a  storm  off  the  Bermudas.  The  French- 
men, he  said,  would  have  surrendered  a  deal  sooner 
than  they  did,  only  that  the  Englishmen  had  lent  a  hand 
in  the  fighting.  He  said  that  the  English  captain  and  a 
passenger  from  the  English  bark  were  the  only  men 
on  deck  when  they  came  aboard,  and  it  was  the  English 
captain  who  had  informed  them  of  the  precious  nature 
of  the  Frenchman's  cargo.  Dred  asked  incidentally 
what  had  been  done  with  the  prisoners,  and  Morton 
said  that  Blackbeard  had,  at  first,  been  all  for  throwing 
the  Englishmen  overboard,  because  they  had  fought 
against  then-  own  blood,  but  that  he  (Morton)  and  the 
boatswain  of  the  other  sloop  had  dissuaded  him  from 
his  first  intention,  and  that  finally  the  crew  and  passen- 
gers of  the  prize  had  all  been  set  adiift  in  three  of  the 
Frenchman's  boats,  though  without  compass  and  with 
only  provisions  and  water  for  three  days.  This  was  the 
story  that  Morton  told,  and  it  was  very  different  from 
Blackbeard's  statement  made  before  Grovernor  Eden. 

Jack  listened  most  intently.  It  all  sounded  very 
strange  and  remote — that  savage  piracy  upon  a  poor 
merchantman, — and  yet  it  was  all  singularly  real  as 
Morton  told  it.  He  wished  very  strongly  that  he  had 
been  along.  What  a  thing  it  would  have  been  to  re- 
member in  after  years !  What  a  thing  to  have  talked 
about  if  he  should  ever  get  back  again  to  Southampton  ! 
Dred  asked  who  of  their  own  men  had  been  hurt. 
"  Swigget  was  killed  nigh  the  first  fire  the  parleyvoos 
gave  us,"  Morton  answered,  "  and  Robinson  was  shot 
a  while  later  and  died  whiles  they  were  carrying  him 
below.  T'  others  '11  all  get  well  like  enough,  unless  it 
be  black  Tom,  who  was  shot  in  the  neck." 

Jack  did  not  know  Robinson,  but  he  recollected  Swig- 
get  very  distinctly  as  being  one  of  the  crew  that  had 
made  the  descent  upon  Marlborough.  He  had  not  seen 
him  since  those  days,  but  it  seemed  very  strange,  al- 


242  JACK  BALLISTER'S  FOETUNES 

most  shocking,  to  think  that  he  who  had  been  so  strong 
and  well  at  that  time,  who  had  snapped  his  finger  in 
time  to  the  captain's  guitar  music  and  who  had  been  so 
exultant  when  he  had  won  at  cards,  that  he  should  now 
be  suddenly  dead! 

"  'T  were  a  hot  fight  while  it  lasted,"  Morton  was  say- 
ing. "But,  oh,  Chris,  you  should  just  ha'  seen  that 
there  bark — full,  chock  up  to  the  hatches,  with  sugar, 
and  twenty  hogsheads  of  rum  in  the  forehold  besides. 
'T  was  the  chance  of  your  life  you  missed,  Chris  Dred." 

There  was  a  long  pause,  and  then  Dred  asked,  "  Where 
is  she  now?" 

"  She 's  lying  down  below  Stagg's  Island,"  said  Morton. 

"What,  during  that  little  pause,  was  the  intangible 
cause  that  should  have  so  suddenly  have  recalled  to 
Jack's  memory  the  scene  of  yesterday  —  the  swamp,  and 
the  poor  fugitive  girl  crouching  at  the  foot  of  the  cypress- 
tree  ?  Some  expression  of  Dred's  face,  perhaps ;  some 
indefinable  motion  of  his  hand.  His  mind  rushed  back 
to  that  other  event,  and  a  recollection  of  the  young 
lady's  white,  woeful  face — a  remembrance  of  the  touch 
of  her  cold  chin  npon  his  hand,  stood  out  very  strongly 
upon  his  memory. 

All  the  while  Morton  had  been  talking,  Blackbeard 
had  sat  at  the  table  in  sullen  silence,  taking  no  part  in, 
and  not  even  seeming  to  hear,  what  was  said.  Morton 
still  smoked  his  pipe,  and  now  the  kitchen  was  pun- 
gent with  rank  tobacco  smoke.  Meantime  Betty  Teach 
had  been  bustling  about,  and  had  brought  out  a  bottle 
of  rum  and  some  glasses,  half  a  ham,  and  a  lot  of  corn 
bread.  Then  she  set  a  couple  of  pewter  plates  with 
knives  and  forks  upon  the  table.  Blackbeard  cut  him- 
self a  slice  of  ham  and  helped  himself  to  a  piece  of 
bread,  and  by  and  by  Morton  took  his  place  at  the  table 
also,  drawing  up  his  chair  with  a  noisy  scrape  upon 
the  floor. 


CHAPTER  XXXII 


A  SCENE 


THE  news  that  the  pu-ates  had  brought  in  a  rich 
prize  of  rum  and  sugar  flew  very  quickly  up  into 
the  town,  for  the  very  next  morning  Mr.  Knight  came 
down  to  see  the  pirate  captain,  bringing  with  him  a 
man  who  was  a  stranger  to  Jack.  He  afterward  found 
that  the  stranger  was  a  Captain  Hotchkiss,  master  of  a 
schooner  bound  for  the  port  of  Philadelphia.  Captain 
Hotchkiss  was  an  honest  merchantman  as  the  times 
went,  but  he  was  quite  willing  to  undertake  to  dispose 
of  the  captured  rum  in  the  port  for  which  he  was  bound. 

The  rain  had  cleared  away,  and  soon  after  breakfast 
Jack  had  gone  down  to  the  wharf.  One  of  the  pirates 
named  Bolles  —  a  young  feUow  not  much  older  than 
himself  —  had  come  up  from  Ocracock  aboard  the  sloop. 
He  had  been  wounded  in  the  fight,  and  he  carried  his 
arm  in  a  sHng.  He  had  not  come  up  from  the  landing 
for  his  breakfast,  and  Betty  Teach  had  sent  something 
down  to  him  by  Jack — a  big,  cold  roast  yam,  some  corn 
bread,  and  a  thick  slice  of  bacon.  The  young  pirate  had 
spread  his  meal  out  on  top  of  one  of  the  piles,  and  was 
making  shift  to  eat  it  with  his  left  hand.  Jack  stood 
leaning  against  the  other  side  of  the  pile,  watching  his 
thick-featured,  heavy  face  as  he  ate. 

"  Ye  ought  to  ha'  been  along,"  said  the  young  pirate, 
munching  away  with  his  mouth  full. 

"Why,  so  I  should  have  liked  to  have  been,"  said 
Jack. 


243 


244  JACK  BALLISTEE'S  FORTUNES 

"  'T  were  a  mightly  hot  fight,  though,  while  it  lasted," 
said  the  young  pirate  with  pride.  "Like  enough  you 
might  n't  ha'  liked  that  so  much  if  you  'd  been  there. 
'T  was  a  main  villainous  chance  that  I  should  ha'  been 
hit  the  very  first  time  I  ever  was  really  in  a  fight." 

"  Did  it  hurt  you  when  you  were  shot !  "  Jack  asked, 
curiously. 

"  Hui't !  "  said  the  pirate,  "  I  don't  know  —  no,  not 
much  at  first.  'T  was  as  if  somebody  had  struck  me  in 
the  shoulder  with  a  club  It  just  knocked  me  around 
as  if  I  'd  been  hit  with  a  club.  I  did  n't  know  what 
't  was  at  first,  nor  till  I  felt  the  blood  a-running  down 
my  hand,  all  hot  like.  Arter  that  it  hurt  bad  enough. 
'T  were  a  grape-shot,"  he  said,  with  some  pride,  "  and  it 
looked  as  though  you  'd  'a'  scooped  a  bit  of  the  meat  out 
with  a  spoon,  only  deeper  like.  'T  was  a  nigh  chance, 
and  if  it  had  'a'  been  a  Httle  higher,  't  would  'a'  been  all 
up  with  Ned  Bolles." 

"  I  'd  have  liked  well  to  have  been  along,"  said  Jack 
again. 

"  Well,"  said  the  young  pirate,  "  't  was  summat  to  stir 
the  blood,  I  can  tell  ye.  Then  we  lay  for  maybe  twenty 
minutes  or  more  afore  t'  other  sloop  could  come  up 
with  us,  and  all  the  time  that  bloody  French  bark 
a-banging  away  at  us,  the  bullets  a-going  ping !  ping ! 
and  chug  !  chug  !  and  every  now  and  then  boom  !  goes 
a  gun  —  boom!  boom!  —  and  maybe  a  bucketful  of 
splinters  goes  flying.  And  then,  by  and  by,  I  see  'em 
carrying  poor  Tom  Swiggett  down  below,  and  a  nasty 
sight  he  were,  with  his  eyes  rolled  up  and  his  face  like 
dough.  And  just  then,  bump  !  and  around  I  goes,  shot 
in  the  shoulder.  "  'T  were  n't  no  skylarking  now,  I  tell 
ye." 

It  was  just  then  that  Mr.  Knight's  boat  pulled  up  to 
the  wharf  beyond,  and  Jack  went  out  to  the  end  of  the 
landing  to  meet  it.    The  men  who  were  rowing  were 


A  SCENE  245 

strangers  to  Jack.  They  lay  waiting  on  their  oars, 
looking  up  at  him.  "  Tell  me,  young  man  ! "  called  Mr. 
Knight.     "Is  Captain  Teach  at  home?" 

"Yes,  he  is,"  said  Jack,  "but  he  's  not  about  yet." 

Then  Mr.  Knight,  followed  by  Captain  Hotchkiss, 
came  climbing  up  the  ladder,  slippery  with  green  slime, 
to  the  wharf  above.  The  colonial  secretary  led  the  way 
directly  up  to  the  house,  and  Jack  followed  the  two 
visitors,  leaving  the  young  pirate  munching  away 
stolidly  at  his  food. 

They  all  went  into  the  kitchen  together.  The  pirate 
captain  had  gone  to  bed,  but  Dred  and  Morton  still 
lingered  in  front  of  the  fire,  and  Betty  Teach  was  busy 
putting  away  the  remains  of  the  breakfast  that  had 
been  standing  on  the  table  since  midnight. 

"  If  you  '11  come  in  t'  other  room,"  said  Jack,  "  you  'U 
likely  find  it  in  better  trim  than  this  one,  Mr.  Knight." 

"  Never  mind,"  said  the  secretary,  "  we  'd  just  as  lief 
stay  here.  What  time  did  the  sloop  get  in  1 "  he  asked 
of  Morton. 

"  I  don't  know  exactly,"  said  Morton,  without  taking 
his  pipe  out  of  his  mouth.  "'T  was  some  time  arter 
midnight." 

"  Is  the  captain  asleep  yet  1 " 

"  I  reckon  he  be,"  said  Dred.  "  I  hain't  seen  him 
since  he  went  to  bed  early  this  morning." 

"Well,  he  '11  have  to  be  awakened  then,"  said  Mr. 
Knight,  "  for  I  've  just  fetched  Captain  Hotchkiss, 
here,  down  from  the  town  to  see  him,  and  he  has  to 
be  going  again  as  soon  as  may  be." 

"  You  'd  better  go  and  wake  him  then,  mistress,"  said 
Dred;  and  Betty  went,  though  with  great  reluctance,  to 
arouse  her  husband.  Presently  they  could  hear  her 
overhead  talking  to  the  pirate,  who  answered  her  evi- 
dently from  his  bed ;  then  they  could  hear  him  telling 
her  that  he  would  be  down  in  a  little  while,  and  pres- 


246  JACK  BALLISTEE'S  FORTUNES 

ently  she  retui'ned  down-stairs  again,  leaving  Black- 
beard  stamping  his  feet  into  his  shoes  and  swearing  to 
himself. 

Then,  after  a  while,  they  heard  the  door  of  the  room 
open  and  the  pirate  captain  go  stumping  along  the 
passage.  He  did  not  come  directly  down-stairs,  how- 
ever, but  went  on  into  the  room  where  Hands  lay. 

"  Where  's  he  gone  now  ?  "  said  Mr.  Knight.  "  Why 
don't  he  come  ? " 

"He  's  stopped  in  to  see  Hands  first,"  said  Betty 
Teach. 

"  Well,  then,  why  should  he  do  that  !  "  said  Mr. 
Knight,  crossly.     "Hands  can  wait  and  we  can't." 

Betty  made  no  reply,  but  went  on  with  her  inter- 
rupted work.  In  the  pause  of  silence  that  followed, 
those  in  the  kitchen  could  hear  the  grumbling  sound 
of  the  men's  voices  talking  up-stairs.  Captain  Hotch- 
kiss  fidgeted  restlessly.  "  When  did  the  fever  take 
you?"  he  asked  Dred. 

"  Wliy,  I  don't  know,"  said  Dred.  "  It  appeared  like 
I  fetched  it  down  from  Virginny  with  me." 

Hands  was  talking  now,  and  they  could  hear  the 
growling  of  his  voice — it  continued  for  some  time  in  a 
monotone,  and  then  suddenly  the  captain's  voice  burst 
out  with  a  loud,  angry  excitement.  There  was  instant 
silence  in  the  kitchen:  every  one  sat  listening  intently  to 
hear  what  was  said  in  the  room  above.  "  Eun  away  ! " 
they  heard  Blackbeard's  voice  exclaim.  "  Run  away ! " 
and  then  came  the  noise  of  his  chair  grating  against 
the  bare  floor.  Jack  and  Betty  Teach  and  Dred  ex- 
changed looks.  They  knew  that  Hands  had  told  of  the 
young  lady's  attempted  escape. 

"  He  's  gone  and  told,  arter  all,"  said  Dred. 

"  Told  what  ? "  asked  Mr.  Knight,  but  the  others  were 
listening  again,  and  did  not  reply.  Again  Hands  was 
talking,  but  it  was  impossible  to  distinguish  what  he 


A   SCENE  247 

was  saying.  Suddenly  the  chair  gi*ated  again,  and 
the  next  moment  came  the  sound  of  Blackbeard's  feet 
striding  across  the  room,  and  then  along  the  passage. 
Then  he  came  clattering  down  the  stairs ;  then  the 
kitchen  door  was  flung  open  and  he  burst  into  the  room. 
"What  's  this  here  Hands  tells  me  about  the  young 
lady  trying  to  run  away  yesterday  f "  he  cried  out,  in 
a  fierce,  loud  voice. 

Captain  Hotchkiss  was  Ustening  with  silent  intent- 
ness.  Mr.  Knight  instantly  understood  everything,  and 
he  shot  a  side  look  at  Captain  Hotchkiss's  attentive  face. 
"Take  care,  captain,"  he  said  to  Blackbeard,  "take  care 
what  you  say.    You  forget  there  's  a  stranger  here." 

Blackbeard  glared  at  him,  but  vouchsafed  no  reply. 
"Did  n't  I  tell  you,"  he  said,  turning  upon  his  wife, 
"  that  you  was  to  keep  a  sharp  lookout  upon  the  hussy 
while  I  was  away?  I  was  af eared  of  something  of 
this  sort,  and  I  told  you  to  keep  a  sharp  lookout  on 
her.  Suppose  she  'd  'a'  got  up  into  the  town !  maybe 
she  'd  have  had  the  whole  province  talking.  'T  is  bad 
enough  as  't  is  with  everybody  hereabouts  blabbing 
about  her,  but  if  she  'd  got  up  into  the  town  maybe 
she  'd  found  somebody  to  look  after  her  and  take  up 
her  case,  and  then  we  'd  have  never  got  her  back  again. 
There  's  Parson  Odell,  if  she  'd  gone  to  him,  he  'd  have 
had  to  take  up  her  case,  and  then  we  'd  'a'  had  the  whole 
Parker  crew  down  upon  us  from  Virginny,  like  enough." 

"  Well,"  said  Betty  Teach,  "  't  was  nobody's  fault  she 
got  away.  To  be  sure,  I  did  all  I  could  to  look  after 
her,  morning  and  night.  I  alius  went  to  her  door 
early,  and  I  alius  kept  the  doors  of  the  house  tight 
locked  of  a  night.  I  don't  know  how  she  contrived  to 
get  out,  but  she  did  get  out,  and  that  's  all  there  be 
about  it.  But  now  't  is  over  and  done,  and  she  's  safe 
back  home  again  and  no  harm  done,  so  what 's  the  use 
of  blustering  about  it  for  everybody  to  hear ! " 


248  JACK   BALLISTER'S   FOETUNES 

Mr.  Knight  came  up  to  Blackbeard  and  plucked  liim 
by  the  sleeve.  "You  forget,"  he  whispered,  "that 
Hotchkiss  is  here.  You  don't  want  everybody  to  know 
about  this  business,  do  you  ?  " 

Blackbeard  shook  off  his  touch.  He  would  listen 
to  nothing.  "And  as  for  you,  Chris  Dred,"  he  said, 
turning  to  the  sick  man,  "what  be  ye  fit  for,  any- 
how!" Dred  shrugged  his  shoulders  without  reply- 
ing. "What !  won't  you  answer  me,  then  ?  By  blood! 
you  shall  answer  me  !  " 

"  'T  is  no  use  to  answer  you,"  said  Dred,  "you  've  got 
in  one  of  your  humors,  and  there  's  naught  that  I  can 
say  that  you  '11  listen  to." 

Blackbeard  glared  balefully  at  him  for  a  while,  per- 
haps not  knowing  just  what  to  say.  Then  suddenly 
he  turned  on  his  heel  and  fl.ung  open  the  door,  and 
went  noisily  up-stairs  again. 

"  Where  are  you  going,  Ned  1 "  his  wife  called  after 
him,  but  he  did  not  reply. 

"I  do  believe  he  's  going  up  to  the  young  lady's 
room,"  said  Dred,  rising  from  his  bench.  "  You  'd  bet- 
ter go  up  and  stop  him,  mistress,  or  he  '11  frighten  her 
to  death." 

They  listened,  and,  sure  enough,  the  pirate  went 
straight  to  the  girl's  room  and  flung  open  the  door  vio- 
lently. "  You  'd  better  go  up  arter  him,"  said  Dred ; 
"  he  's  in  one  of  his  fits,  and  there  's  no  knowing  what 
he  '11  say  or  do  to  her." 

"  Why,"  said  Betty  Teach,  "  to  be  sure  I  don't  like 
to  cross  him  now." 

Dred  shrugged  his  shoulders  and  sat  down  again. 
They  could  hear  the  loud,  violent  voice  of  the  pirate 
storming  from  the  room  above.  "  Ye  'd  run  away,  would 
ye  ?  Ye  'd  run  away,  would  ye  1  By  the  eternal !  I  '11 
cure  ye  of  that,  my  mistress !  Ye  don't  know  me,  to 
try  your  tricks  with  me.    What  d'  ye  suppose  I  keep 


A   SCENE  249 

ye  here  for —  because  I  love  ye  ?  Not  I !  'T  is  for  what 
I  can  make  out  of  ye ! "  —  and  so  on,  and  so  on.  Betty 
Teach  stood  listening  at  the  half -open  door.  "Well," 
she  said  at  last,  "  I  do  suppose  I  '11  have  to  go  up  to 
him.  'T  is  as  you  say ;  he  'U  frighten  her  to  death,  the 
way  he  's  talking  to  her."  Then  again  she  listened  for 
a  moment  or  two,  and  they  could  all  hear  the  sound  of 
some  one  crying.  "  Well,  I  '11  go,"  she  said ;  and  she 
went,  closing  the  door  after  her. 

"  Who  is  it  he  's  got  up  there,  anyhow  ?  "  asked  Cap- 
tain Hotchkiss.  He  looked  around  at  the  others,  but 
no  one  replied  to  him.     He  was  devoured  by  curiosity. 

"  He  should  n't  have  gone  up-stairs  in  the  humor 
he  's  in,"  said  the  secretary.  "  He  was  n't  fit  to  talk 
with  her  now." 

"  But  who  is  it  ? "  said  Captain  Hotchkiss,  again. 

"  Never  you  mind  that,  captain,"  said  Mr.  Knight, 
sharply.  "  'T  is  a  matter  that  don't  concern  you  at  all, 
and  you  'd  better  mind  your  own  affairs." 

Betty  Teach  was  talking,  and  they  could  hear  the 
sound  of  her  voice,  trying  to  quiet  her  husband  —  then 
the  sound  of  Blackbeard's,  more  violent  than  ever.  The 
doors  were  closed,  so  that  it  was  impossible  to  distin- 
guish what  was  said.  Suddenly  there  came  a  cry, —  then 
a  fall, —  then  silence.  "  By  heavens ! "  said  Mr.  Knight, 
"  he  has  n't  done  anything  to  her,  has  he  I " 

"  No,"  said  Dred,  "  he  would  n't  do  nothing  to  her  o' 
that  kind.  He  would  n't  touch  hand  to  her,  if  you  mean 
that." 

The  silence  continued  for  a  while ;  then  the  door 
opened,  and  Betty  Teach's  voice  called  down  the  stairs : 
"Jack!  Jack!     Come  here  a  minute!" 

Jack  hurried  out  of  the  room,  and  up-stairs.  The 
door  of  the  young  lady's  room  was  standing  open,  and 
before  he  entered  he  could  see  Miss  Eleanor  Parker 
lying  upon  the  floor  and  the  pirate's  wife  bending  over 


250  JACK  ballistee's  foktunes 

her,  rubbing  and  slapping  her  hands.  Blackbeard  him- 
self sat  upon  the  edge  of  the  table,  swinging  one  leg, 
his  arms  folded,  lowering  down  at  the  unconscious  fig- 
ure. "  Here,  Jack,"  said  the  pirate's  wife,  looking  up, 
"help  me  lift  her  to  the  bed." 

Then  Jack,  who  stood  looking,  aroused  himself,  and 
came  into  the  room.  He  stoojDed,  and  slipped  his  hands 
and  arms  under  the  girl's  shoulders.  Her  head  fell  back 
upon  his  arm  as  he  raised  her,  and  her  hair  flowed  over 
it  in  a  dark,  glossy  cloud.  He  looked  down  at  the  white 
face,  the  blue  veins  marking  faint  lines  upon  her  fore- 
head. Then  he  and  the  woman  laid  her  upon  the  bed. 
"  Go  and  fetch  some  water,"  said  Betty  Teach,  "  and  be 
cj[uick  about  it." 

The  pail  was  empty,  and  Jack  ran  down-stairs  to  fill 
it.  "  What 's  the  matter  f "  asked  Mr.  Knight,  as  he 
hurried  through  the  kitchen. 

"  iSTothing,"  said  Jack,  "  only  she  's  fainted  away." 

When  he  returned  to  the  room  again  he  saw  that  the 
pirate's  wife  had  loosened  the  young  lady's  stays,  and 
that  she  had  now  returned,  or  was  returning,  to  con- 
sciousness. "  Well,  then,"  Betty  Teach  was  saying,  "  I 
do  suppose  you  're  satisfied,  now  that  you  've  nigh 
frightened  her  to  death.     Are  ye  satisfied,  now  ? " 

As  Jack  set  the  pail  of  water  upon  the  floor,  he  saw 
a  shuddering  tremor  shake  the  half -conscious  girl,  and 
then,  by  and  by,  another.  Blackbeard  still  sat  upon 
the  edge  of  the  table,  swinging  one  leg,  his  arms  folded, 
and  his  face  lowering.  "  Well,  I  '11  frighten  her  worse 
than  that,"  he  said,  at  last.  "  I  '11  frighten  her  worse 
than  she  was  ever  frightened  before  in  all  of  her  life  if 
she  goes  trying  any  of  her  tricks  of  running  away 
again ! "  He  stopped,  and  glared  toward  the  two  women. 
Then  he  ground  his  white  teeth  together  in  a  sudden 
spasm  of  rage.  "  I  'U  frighten  her  so  she  '11  wish  she 
was  dead ! " 


A   SCENE  251 

Whether  the  girl  heard  or  not,  she  shuddered,  as 
though  at  the  words.  "  Well,  you  'd  better  go  down- 
stairs now,"  said  Betty  Teach.  "You  've  frightened 
her  enough  for  once,  and  you  've  said  things  before 
Jack  Hotchkiss  that  maybe  you  '11  be  sorry  you  said, 
by  and  by." 

"  I  '11  go  down-stairs,"  growled  the  pirate,  "  when  it 
suits  me  to,  and  not  before."  He  sat  for  a  little  while 
longer,  as  though  to  assert  himself,  and  then  presently 
got  up  and  slouched  out  of  the  room,  without  closing 
the  door  behind  him. 

Jack  lingered  for  a  while,  and  at  first  the  captain's 
wife,  busied  about  her  patient,  did  not  see  him.  Pres- 
ently the  young  lady  began  to  cry  weakly,  and  then 
Betty  Teach  looked  up.  "You  go  down-stairs,  too," 
she  said. 

"  Can't  I  do  something  to  help  you  ?  "  said  Jack,  gulp- 
ing at  the  sympathetic  lump  that  rose  in  his  throat. 

"  No,  you  can't,"  she  said,  sharply,  "  except  to  do  as  I 
bid  you."  And  then  Jack  followed  the  captain  down 
into  the  kitchen. 

"  They  do  say,"  Mr.  Knight  was  saying,  "  that  there 
was  twenty  casks  of  rum  aboard.  Well,  if  that  be  true, 
methinks  I  can  help  you  to  rid  yourself  of  some  of  them 
at  a  fair  price.  Hotchkiss,  here,  is  on  his  way  to  Phil- 
adelphia, and  will  take  six  of  them  to  Mr.  West,  who  '11 
handle  them  as  my  agent,  if  you  choose  to  have  it  so. 
I  dare  say  he  '11  get  the  best  there  is  out  of  them  for 
you." 

"  The  purchase  is  n't  condemned  yet,"  said  Black- 
beard,  sullenly. 

"Oh,  well,  't  will  make  no  diiference  just  to  take  a 
little  rum,"  said  Mr.  Knight.  "  I  '11  make  that  all  right 
with  his  Excellency." 

Blackbeard  sat  gloomily  without  speaking.  "  Where 
is  the  rum  ? "  said  Captain  Hotchkiss. 


252  JACK  BALLISTER'S   FORTUNES 

"  It 's  aboard  the  bark,"  said  Blackbeard,  shortly. 
"  I  've  got  a  keg  of  it  aboard  the  sloop,  if  you  choose  to 
come  and  saraple  it."  His  lowering  mood  still  brooded 
heavily  upon  him,  but  he  arose,  took  down  his  hat 
gloomily,  and  without  saying  anything  further,  stalked 
out  of  the  house,  leaving  his  two  visitors  to  follow  him 
as  they  chose. 

"  I  've  a  great  mind,"  said  Jack  to  himself,  "  to  ask 
Captain  Hotchkiss  if  he  won't  take  me  away  to  Phil- 
adelphia with  him."    But  he  did  not  do  so. 


J 


CHAPTEE  XXXIII 


HOW   JACK   KESOLVED 


JACK,  missing  a  full  night  of  young,  wholesome  sleep, 
dozed  a  great  deal  of  the  afternoon,  lying  stretched 
out  uncomfortably  upon  a  bench  in  the  kitchen.  Dred 
and  Morton  talked  intermittently,  and  the  occasional 
growling  tenor  of  their  voices  mingled  ever  with  his 
half  dreams ;  an  occasional  expression  striking  out  now 
and  then  from  the  monotone  of  words,  and  rousing 
him  to  a  fleeting  consciousness.  Then  there  would  be 
long  pauses  of  silent  tobacco-smoking,  in  which  he 
would  fall  to  dreaming  again. 

Ever  since  the  day  before,  his  bosom  had  been  grow- 
ing more  and  more  full  of  the  thought  of  the  young 
lady.  Now  his  thoughts  recurred  to  her  again  and 
again  in  his  half- waking  dozings,  remembering  always 
how  he  had  found  her  in  the  swamp  and  how  he  had 
covered  her  cold  shoulders  with  his  own  coat,  how  he 
had  lifted  her  soft  swooning  body  from  the  floor,  how 
her  black  hair  fell  in  a  cloud  over  his  arm.  He  seemed 
to  sense  again  the  singular  fragrance  of  her  presence, 
and  at  times  of  his  half  sleeping  he  would  almost  feel 
the  touch  of  her  damp  chin  upon  his  hand  as  he  but- 
toned the  coat  at  her  throat.  There  was  a  strange,  keen 
pleasure  in  thus  dreaming  about  her,  and  he  yielded 
himself  entirely  to  it. 

Equally  present  in  this  half-waking  sleep  was  the 
fact  of  the  return  of  the  pirates.    Once  he  fancied  very 


263 


254  JACK  BALLISTEE's   FORTUNES 

vividly  that  lie  was  on  board  of  the  French  bark,  and 
that  he  was  trying  to  escape  in  her  with  Miss  Eleanor 
Parker,  and  that  the  forecastle  was  smeared  all  over 
with  blood.  He  saw  the  scene  very  vividly  —  almost 
as  though  it  stood  actually  before  his  eyes.  Two 
voices  were  speaking  somewhere,  and  then  he  awoke 
to  hear  Dred  and  Morton  talking  together  again. 

That  evening  after  supper  he  rowed  Morton  up  to 
the  town.  He  himself  had  made  many  acquaintances 
at  Bath  Town  during  the  two  months  or  more  of  his 
life  at  the  pirate's  house.  Everybody  grew  to  know  him 
very  well — his  history,  of  his  family,  of  his  prospects. 
They  used  to  call  him  "  Grentleman  Jack,"  and  showed 
him  a  sort  of  consideration  they  would  not  have  done 
had  he  not  had  such  advantages  of  birth  and  breeding. 
He  used  often  to  go  up  in  the  skiff  of  an  evening,  to  sit 
and  talk  at  some  gathering-place  of  the  planters  and 
the  town's  people,  returning  perhaps  late  at  night 
through   the   hollow  solitude  of  the  watery  silence. 

This  evening  he  went  with  Morton  from  place  to 
place,  watching  him  as  he  drank  rum,  listening  to  his 
talk,  and  sometimes  joining  in  what  was  said.  The 
town,  as  has  been  said,  was  full  of  the  news  of  the 
pirates'  return  and  of  the  rich  prize  they  had  made, 
and  Morton  was  welcomed  everywhere.  He  was  drink- 
ing very  freely,  and,  as  he  went  from  house  to  house, 
he  talked  ever  more  and  more  openly  about  the  cir- 
cumstances of  the  capture  of  the  prize.  It  almost 
seemed  to  Jack  as  though  he  himself  had  part  and 
parcel  in  it  all  by  virtue  of  being  a  member  of  the 
pirate's  household.  Ordinarily  he  would  have  taken 
great  delight  in  listening  to  what  was  said  and  in  say- 
ing his  say  concerning  it,  but  now  a  strong  desire  for 
her  presence  hung  continually  over  him,  urging  him' 
almost  uncomfortably  to  get  back  home  again. 

So  it  was  that  he  did  not  stay  very  long  up  in  the 


HOW   JACK   RESOLVED  255 

town,  but  returned  before  the  night  had  altogether 
fallen,  and  while  a  pallid  light  still  lingered  in  the 
western  sky,  making  it  faintly  luminous.  As  he  rowed 
slowly  down  the  smooth  stretch  of  water,  solitary  and 
alone,  the  joy  of  that  strong  yearning  to  be  near  her 
again  seemed  to  fill  everything,  and,  as  he  listened 
absently  to  the  rhythmic  chugging  jerk  of  the  oars  in 
the  rowlocks,  and  as  he  looked  out  astern  at  the  long, 
trailing,  oily  wake  that  the  boat  left  behind  it  along 
the  glassy  smoothness  of  the  water,  he  thought  of  her, 
bearing  strongly  upon  the  thought,  and  holding  it  close 
to  him. 

He  built  up  incoherent  plans  for  comforting  her,  for 
helping  her.  He  had  thought  a  score  of  times  that  day 
about  the  possibility  of  helping  her  to  escape,  and  now 
in  the  dusk  and  the  solitude  the  disjointed  thoughts  be- 
gan to  assume  almost  the  vividness  of  reality,  and  once 
or  twice  he  thrilled  with  a  quick,  keen,  nervous  pang  as 
though  he  were  upon  the  eve  of  actually  fulfilling  some 
such  determination.  These  vague  plans  did  not  take 
any  definite  shape  excepting  that  he  said  to  himself 
that  he  might  carry  her  back  home  as  she  had  been 
brought  thither,  and  maybe  that  he  might  take  the  big 
yawl-boat  that  the  pirates  J]  ad  brought  back  with  them 
in  the  tow  of  the  sloop,  and  which  now  again  lay  drawn 
up  on  the  beach  near  to  the  landing  wharf.  Beyond 
this  he  had  not  thought  of  any  plan  for  taking  her 
away,  but  only  dwelt  ujDon  the  delight  of  being  with 
her  for  such  a  long  time  and  of  taking  care  of  her. 

His  mind  was  full  of  such  thoughts  as  he  ran  the 
skiff  upon  the  half  sandy,  half  muddy  strip  of  beach 
beside  the  landing  wharf,  driving  the  bow  of  the  boat 
far  up  on  the  shore  with  two  or  three  quick  pulls  of  the 
oar,  and  the  desire  for  her  presence  was  so  strong  upon 
him  that  when  he  reached  the  house  he  leaned  the  oars 
against  the  side  of  the  wooden  wall,  and  went  around 


256  JACK  BALLISTER'S   FOETUNES 

to  the  further  end  of  the  building,  where  the  window 
of  her  room  opened  out  to  the  westward. 

Excepting  for  this  window,  that  side  of  the  house 
was  not  inhabited,  the  lower  windows  of  the  bleak  and 
naked  parlor  being  nearly  always  closed.  He  had 
been  there  before,  and  as  he  went  thither  now,  he  re- 
membered, with  a  kind  of  sudden  joy,  how  he  had 
brought  to  her  one  evening  two  or  three  peaches  that 
he  had  gathered  at  Trivett's  plantation,  and  how  he 
had  thrown  them  up  to  her  as  she  leaned  out  of  the 
window  to  catch  them,  and  of  how  he  had  lingered  a 
little  while  to  talk  with  her. 

The  window  of  her  room  was  open,  but  there  was  no 
light  within,  and  all  was  very  silent.  After  a  moment's 
hesitation  he  called  softly,  in  a  tone  that  was  rather  a 
loud  whisper  than  a  voice,  "  Young  lady  !  Mistress ! 
Miss  Eleanor!"  and  then  presently  again,  "Young  lady, 
are  you  there?  'T  is  I,  Jack — Jack  Ballister."  He 
waited,  looking  up,  but  still  there  was  no  reply.  By 
and  by  he  was  about  to  go  away,  but  at  the  moment  he 
thought  he  saw  a  movement  at  the  window.  Then  her 
face  appeared,  shadow-like,  above  the  ledge.  '^  Who  is 
it  ?  "  she  whispered.     "Is  that  Jack  Ballister  ?  " 

"Yes,"  said  Jack,  "f  is  I.  Tell  me,  mistress,  how 
do  you  do  by  now  ?    Do  you  feel  better  1 " 

"  Ay,"  she  answered.  "  I  'm  better  now  than  I  was. 
"  I  've  been  ill  all  afternoon,  but  I  'm  feeling  better 
now.     But  why  did  you  call  me  1 " 

"  Oh,  I  don't  know,"  said  Jack.  "  I  've  been  up  to 
the  town,  and  I  was  thinking  about  you.  I  've  been 
thinking  about  you  all  day.  I  felt  mightily  sorry  for 
you,  and  I  was  wondering  how  you  did.  I  'm  glad 
you  're  better  now  than  you  were." 

She  did  not  speak  immediately;  then  she  said:  "  Yes, 
I  'm  better  now  than  I  was." 

There  was  something  in  the  undertone  of  her  voice 


HOW   JACK   KESOLVED  257 

that  seemed  to  him  to  bespeak  that  she  had  been  cry- 
ing, and  was  near  crying  again.  The  thought  that  she 
had  been  crying  struck  him  very  sharply.  He  stood 
silent  for  a  moment  or  two,  and  then,  as  though  for 
confirmation,  he  asked :  "  What  is  it,  mistress  ?  Has 
anything  —  have  they  been  troubling  you  again?  Tell 
me,  have  you  been  crying  ?  "  She  did  not  reply.  "  I 
know  something  hath  happened,"  he  whisj^ered.  "  Tell 
me  what  it  is,"  and  then  he  knew  that  she  was  crying 
now. 

"  'T  is  not  much,"  she  said  after  a  while,  during  which 
he  stood  there  not  knowing  just  what  to  say  or  do. 
"  'T  is  only  a  little  thing.  They  have  taken  my  clothes 
away  from  me,  and  locked  the  door  so  that  I  sha'  n't  run 
away  again.  That  is  all,"  and  as  she  spoke  he  could 
see,  but  darkly,  the  flicker  of  her  handkerchief  as  she 
wiped  her  eyes. 

"  Taken  your  clothes ! "  cried  Jack.  "  Who  has  taken 
your  clothes  ?  " 

"Mistress  Teach  has  just  been  in  and  taken  them 
away.  Captain  Teach  went  to  bed  a  long  while  ago, 
and  he  sent  her  to  take  them  away.  There,  go  away, 
please ;  you  make  me  cry  again,  and  I  am  a  fool  to  cry  so 
and  for  such  a  little  thing."  And  then,  breaking  down, 
she  burst  out,  almost  passionately,  "  I  don't  know  why 
they  treat  me  so  ! " 

Jack  stood  silent  in  the  presence  of  her  sudden  emo- 
tion, but  still  he  did  not  know  how  to  go  away  and  leave 
her.  "There,  there,  mistress!"  he  said,  awkwardly, 
"don't  you  take  it  so  bitterly;  it  will  all  come  right 
in  the  end,  I  know  that,  so  don't  cry  any  more."  Then, 
feeling  the  barren  inconsequence  of  his  words,  he  con- 
tinued, "  Do  you  know  what  I  was  thinking  as  I  rowed 
down  from  the  town  just  now  ?  I  was  thinking  that  I 
would  try  to  help  you  to  get  away  from  here  and  back 
home  again,  so  don't  cry  any  more."     Then  he  added, 

17 


258  JACK  BALLISTEE'S  FOETUNES 

"If  you  '11  bid  me,  I  'd  take  you  away  to-night  —  I 
would,  and  carry  you  back  to  Virginia  again." 

"  No,"  she  said,  in  a  voice  stifled  with  the  restraint 
she  was  putting  upon  herself.  "  'T  is  no  use  to  try  to 
escape.  I  tried,  and  I  could  n't  get  away.  I  know  I  '11 
never  be  able  to  get  away  from  here.  I  feel  that  I 
never  shall."  Then  she  suddenly  gave  way,  and  her 
crying  became  so  vehement  that  Jack  began  to  be 
afraid  that  some  one  would  hear  it.  "Hush!"  he 
whispered  sibilantly,  "they  '11  hear  you." 

"  I  can't  help  it,"  she  gasped.     "  Gro  away,  please." 

At  that  moment  some  one  opened  the  door  at  the 
further  end  of  the  house,  and  a  light  shone  out  from  the 
kitchen.  Jack  instantly  slipped  away  into  the  dark- 
ness around  the  corner  of  the  building.  He  waited  for 
a  time,  but  no  one  came.  After  a  while  he  peeped 
around  the  further  corner,  but  whoever  it  was  that 
had  opened  the  door  had  gone  back  into  the  house. 
Then  he  went  around  and  into  the  kitchen  without 
trying  again  to  speak  to  the  young  lady ;  but  his  heart 
was  full  of  and  heavy  with  pity  for  her. 

Betty  Teach  and  Dred  were  both  in  the  kitchen  when 
Jack  came  in  —  Dred  smoking  his  pipe,  the  pirate's  wife 
busied  about  her  work.  There  was  a  bundle  of  clothes 
lying  upon  the  table,  and  Jack,  as  he  stood  with  his 
back  to  the  fire-place,  knew  that  it  belonged  to  the 
young  lady. 

"  Did  Morton  come  back  with  you  ?  "  asked  Dred. 

"No,"  said  Jack,  shortly;  and  then  he  added,  "He 
said  he  'd  stay  up  there  all  night  to-night  and  be  back 
to-morrow." 

Betty  Teach  picked  up  the  bundle  of  clothes  and, 
lifting  the  lid  of  the  hutch,  flung  it  in,  banged  down 
the  lid  and  turned  the  key,  all  in  the  same  moment. 
"  I  'm  going  to  bed,"  she  said.  "I'  ve  been  up  and  on  my 
feet  ever  since  midnight,  and  I  'm  tired  to  the  marrow." 


HOW  JACK  KESOLVED  259 

A  sudden  auger  flamed  up  within  Jack.  "'T  is  a 
bleeding  shame,"  he  cried  out,  "for  you  to  treat  the 
young  lady  so  and  take  her  clothes  from  her  that  way, 
and  to  lock  her  in  her  room  besides." 

Betty  Teach  turned  quickly  on  him.  "Who  told 
you  I  'd  took  her  clothes  away  from  her  and  locked  her 
in  her  room  ? "  she  asked,  sharply. 

Jack  hesitated  for  a  moment.  "  Can't  I  see  for  my- 
self ? "  he  said.  "  Ain't  those  her  clothes  you  've  locked 
up  in  the  chest  ? " 

"  But  who  told  you  I'd  locked  her  in  her  room  ?  " 
Betty  Teach  insisted.    "  Come,  tell  me,  who  told  you  ?  " 

Then  Jack  answered,  almost  sullenly,  "  Well,  if  you 
must  know,  I  stopped,  on  my  way  up  from  the  boat  to 
ask  the  young  lady  how  she  did,  and  she  told  me 
you  'd  locked  her  up  and  taken  her  clothes  away  from 
her." 

"And  so  you  've  been  around  back  of  the  house 
speaking  to  her,  have  you?  I  thought  I  heard  some 
one  talking  outside.     And  so  't  was  you,  was  it?" 

"  Well,"  said  Jack,  "  and  what  if  it  was  ?  What  harm 
was  there  in  my  talking  to  her  ? " 

"  Harm ! "  said  Betty  Teach.  "  You  '11  see  what  harm 
there  's  in  it  if  Ned  catches  you  at  it,  after  what  hap- 
pened yesterday.  He  '11  harm  you,  I  i^romise  you  that. 
'T  is  good  for  you  he  's  so  dead  asleep  as  not  to  hear 
you.  He  'd  harm  you  with  a  bullet  in  your  head  if  he 
caught  you  or  anybody  else  hanging  around  her  window 
out  there  at  night  after  her  trying  to  run  away." 

"  No  he  would  n't,  neither,"  said  Jack,  stoutly. 

"  Would  n't  he  ?  "  said  Betty.  "  Well,  you  just  try  it 
again  some  fine  day  when  he  's  about,  and  you  '11  see 
quicker  than  you  like,"  and  then  she  went  out  of  the 
room  and  up-stairs  to  bed. 

Jack  still  stood,  and  Dred  still  smoked  his  pijie  in 
silence  for  a  long  while  after  the  pirate's  wife  had  gone. 


260  JACK  BALLISTEK'S   FORTUNES 

At  last  Dred  spoke.  "It  be  true  enough  what  she 
said,  lad,"  he  said.  "  If  you  go  meddling  in  this  mat- 
ter you  '11  be  getting  yourself  into  sore  trouble,  as  sure 
as  you  're  born.  'T  is  none  of  your  business  to  be  med- 
dling in  it." 

"Who  said  I  was  meddling!"  said  Jack.  "What 
have  I  been  doing  to  meddle  ? " 

Dred  shrugged  his  shoulders  and  then  smoked  on  for 
a  long  time  in  silence,  during  which  Jack  still  stood 
sullenly  in  front  of  the  fire-place.  "  Not  that  I  blame 
you,"  Dred  suddenly  said,  as  though  following  out  some 
train  of  his  own  thoughts.  "  If  I  was  a  young  lad  like 
you  be,  I  would  n't  sit  still  to  see  a  pretty  young  creature 
like  this  here  young  lady  put  upon  as  she  's  put  upon, 
neither.  It  be  n't  my  business  no  more  than  it 's  yours 
—  except  I  went  up  to  Marlborough  to  help  fetch  her 
away.  But  sometimes  I  can't  abide  it  to  see  her  sit 
there  moping  for  day  after  day,  getting  sicker  and  sicker 
all  the  while,  until  some  fine  day  she  '11  just  fall  away 
and  die  under  our  very  noses." 

"  Die ! "  cried  out  Jack  with  a  start,  and  then,  after  a 
moment's  pause,  "  What  do  you  mean  by  that,  Dred  ? " 

"  You  'd  better  not  talk  so  loud,"  said  Dred,  "  unless 
you  want  'em  to  hear  you  up-stairs." 

"  But  what  did  you  mean  by  saying  she  was  going  to 
die  f "  said  Jack,  in  a  lowered  voice. 

"  I  did  n't  say  she  was  going  to  die,"  said  Dred.  "  I 
said  she  was  getting  sicker  all  the  time,  and  anybody  as 
is  that  way  stands  a  chance  to  die  unless  they  gets  better. 
And  how  's  she  to  get  any  better  if  she  's  kept  penned 
up  here,  moping  for  her  own  home?  That  's  what  I 
meant  when  I  said  I  did  n't  blame  you  for  making  it 
your  business."  Then,  after  a  long  while  of  silence,  in 
which  he  puffed  at  his  pipe,  he  continued,  abruptly, 
"  Ay,  she  's  growin'  more  and  more  peaked  all  the 
time.     She  lies  abed  half  the  day,  nowadays,  and  afore 


HOW  JACK   KESOLVED  261 

long,  't  is  my  belief,  she  '11  lie  in  bed  all  the  time  and 
never  get  up  out  of  it  again." 

Jack  stood  perfectly  still,  his  hands  thrust  deep  into 
his  breeches  pockets.     He  could  not  trust  himself  to 
speak.     He  did  not  know  how  long  he  stood  there,  but 
it  must  have  been  for  a  great  while.    Then  Dred  began 
again :    "  To  my  mind,  't  was  an  ill  day  when  the  cap- 
tain undertook  this  business  of  kidnapping.     Here  he  is 
now,  with  this  young  gell  on  his  hands.    He  's  afraid  to 
let  her  go,  and  if  he  keeps  her  cooped  up  she  's  as  like 
as  not  to  die  on  his  hands.     He  don't  know  how  to  treat 
her,  and  he  can't  contain  hisself  when  she  crosses  him. 
Look  at  the  way  he  talked  to  her  to-day.     A  few  more 
talks  o'  that  kind,  and,  he  '11  kill  her  for  sartin'.     By 
blood !    I  wish  I  was  well  out  of  it  all— I  do.    If  she  dies 
on  our  hands  down  here  't  will  be  the  worst  day's  hap- 
pening that  ever  fell  on  Bath  Town.     I  've  been  think- 
ing a  deal  about  it  lately,  and  sometimes  't  would  n't 
take  much  to  make  me  cut  it  all  and  get  away  from 
here."    And  then  presently  he  added,  "  I  don't  see  as 
there's  over  much  profit  in  staying,  as  't  is."    Again  he 
smoked  away  at  his  pipe,  pufBng  quickly  to  get  it  alight 
once  more.  Then  by  and  by  he  began  once  more :  "  'T  is 
my  belief  the  captain  feels  he  's  being  tricked  by  Mr. 
Parker,  and  that  for  some  reason  or  other  our  gentle- 
man hath  no  notion  of  ever  having  her  fetched  back 
again.     Well,  if  he  thinks  that,  't  is  my  belief,  too. 
Hotchkiss  was  saying  this  morning  that  there  be  news 
about  that  Colonel  Parker  's  fallen  sick  and  '11  maybe 
die.    And  if  he  dies,  and  this  young  lady  dies,  your  Mr. 
Parker  '11  be  a  mightily  rich  man.   Now  you  put  two  and 
two  together,  and  how  many  does  it  make  ?    If  she  dies, 
and  her  father  dies,  Mr.  Parker  '11  deny  all  blame  in 
this  matter,  and  more  'n  likely  '11  come  down  and  roast 
out  the  whole  lot  on  us,  just  to  show  that  he  had  naught 
to  do  in  the  business.     Well,  well,  't  is  none  of  my 


262  JACK  BALLISTER'S  FOETUNES 

business,  but  I  only  hope  and  pray  that  we  sha'  n't  all 
hang  for  doing  what  '11  profit  him  everything  and  won't 
profit  us  anything.  The  captain  might  ha'  knowed 
he  'd  get  naught  out  o'  this  business  to  play  ag'in  such 
a  sharp  blade  as  Mr.  Parker." 

All  this  time  Jack  had  been  standing  dumbly,  with 
his  hands  thrust  deep  into  his  pockets.  Every  word 
that  Dred  said  impelled  him  more  and  more  strongly  to 
say  what  was  in  his  mind,  and  every  moment  he  was  re- 
solving more  and  more  nearly  to  a  culmination  to  say 
his  say  and  to  take  Dred  into  his  confidence.  At  last 
he  did  speak  —  it  seemed  to  him  almost  before  he  had 
finally  decided  to  do  so.  "  Dred,"  he  said,  and  then,  be- 
ginning again,  "  Dred,  you  told  me  a  while  ago  that  you 
did  n't  blame  me  for  making  this  my  business.  Well, 
I  'm  going  to  tell  you  something,  Dred.  I  've  been 
thinking  that  maybe  I  'd  undertake  to  help  the  young 
lady  to  get  away  home  again  to  Virginia."  He  waited 
an  instant,  and  then  added,  "  When  I  spoke  with  her 
just  now,  outside  yonder,  I  told  her  that  if  she  called  on 
me  to  do  it,  I  'd  help  her  to  go  away,  even  if  it  was  this 
very  night." 

Dred  sat  for  a  while  in  perfectly  dead  silence,  looking 
at  Jack  through  his  half-shut  eyes,  and  Jack,  his  heart 
beating  quickly  at  having  spoken,  wondered  what  he 
would  say.  "  Well,"  he  said,  at  last,  "  you  be  a  mighty 
bold  fool,  to  be  sure,  to  talk  that  way  to  me.  You  've 
got  a  great  heart  in  you,  for  sartin.  But  now  you  tell 
me;  how  would  you  set  about  to  do  such  a  thing  as  that  f 
You  don't  know  what  you  talk  about  doing.  How  d'  ye 
suppose  a  boy  like  you  could  get  her  away  from  such 
a  man  as  the  captain,  and  safe  up  to  Virginny  ?  A  man 
like  me  might  maybe  do  such  a  thing  as  that,  but  how 
would  you  set  about  it  I " 

"  I  had  n't  any  real  plan,"  Jack  acknowledged,  "  but 
I  thought  I  might  maybe  get  her  away  in  the  yawl  — 


HOW   JACK   KESOLVED  263 

some  time,  perhaps,  when  the  captain  was  away  from 
home.     Why  not  ? " 

Dred  shook  his  head.  "  No,  no,  my  hearty,"  he  said, 
"  you  'd  never  be  able  to  do  it.  You  'd  be  overhauled 
afore  you  got  half  way  to  Ocracock  —  and  what  d'  ye 
suppose  would  happen  then  ?  " 

"  I  suppose  I  'd  be  fetched  back  again,"  said  Jack. 

"  Do  you  ? "  said  Dred,  gi-imly.  "  Well,  then,  I  don't 
suppose  you  'd  be  fetched  back  again,  unless  you  was 
fetched  back  feet  foremost." 

"  Do  you  mean  they  'd  harm  me  ?  "  said  Jack. 

"That 's  just  what  I  do  mean,"  said  Dred.  "If  the 
captain  caught  you  trying  to  get  this  young  lady  away, 
he  'd  put  a  bullet  into  your  head  as  quick  as  wink,  and 
as  sure  as  you  're  a  born  Christian.  You  don't  know 
the  captain  like  I  do." 

Jack  stood  thinking,  and  Dred  sat  still,  watching  him 
keenly.  Presently  he  heaved  a  profound  breath  that 
was  almost  more  than  a  sigh.  "  Well,  Dred,"  he  said, 
"  if  she  wanted  me  to  do  it,  I  believe  I  would  do  it." 

Dred  continued  to  regard  him  for  a  while,  then  his 
thin  lips  widened  into  a  grin.  "  You  've  got  a  big  heart 
in  you.  Jack  Ballister,"  he  said,  "  and  there  's  no  doubt 
about  that."  Then  suddenly  he  knocked  the  ashes  out 
of  his  pipe  and  arose  from  where  he  sat.  He  came  up 
to  Jack  and  thrust  his  face  close  into  Jack's  face. 
"  Well,  my  lad,"  he  said,  "  you  've  said  your  say  to  me, 
and  now  I  'm  a-going  to  say  my  say  to  you."  Jack  drew 
back  involuntarily,  wondering  with  some  apprehension 
what  was  coming  next.  "  Well,  then,  this  is  my  say : 
How  'd  you  like  me  to  go  along  with  you  1 " 

For  the  moment  Jack  did  not  understand.  "  What 
did  you  say  I "  he  said. 

"  I  said,  how  would  you  like  me  to  go  along  with  you, 
that 's  what  I  said — to  go  along  and  help  take  the  young 
lady  back  to  Virginny  again  '^ "   Then  Dred  reached  out 


264  JACK  BALLISTEE'S   FOKTUNES 

suddenly  and  caught  Jack  by  the  collar,  giving  him  a 
shake.  "  Why,  ye  young  fool,"  he  said,  "  d'  ye  think  I  'd 
let  ye  go  on  such  a  venture  as  that  all  alone,  and  have  the 
head  bio  wed  off  of  ye  for  your  pains  ?  Not  I !  I  knowed 
what  ye  was  at,  the  very  first  word  ye  said,  and  if  I  'd 
chose  to  do  so  I  'd  'a'  stopped  your  talk  quick  enough." 

Even  yet  Jack  did  not  know  whether  he  really  under- 
stood aright.  "  Dred,"  he  said,  whispering  intensely, 
"  what  do  you  mean  ?  Do  you  mean  that  you  're  willing 
to  help  the  young  lady  to  get  away  ?  "  Then,  as  it  came 
upon  him  to  know  that  that  was  what  Dred  did  mean 
and  that  he  was  earnest  in  meaning  it,  he  reached  out, 
hardly  knowing  what  he  did,  and  caught  at  the  other  as 
though  to  hug  him.     "  0  Dred  ! "  he  cried. 

"  Get  away ! "  whispered  Dred,  pushing  him  off  with 
his  elbow.  "  "What  d'  ye  mean,  ye  young  fool  —  hugging 
at  me  that  way  ?  "  Then  he  began  laughing.  "  D'  ye 
think  I  'm  your  sweetheart  to  try  to  hug  me  like  that  ? 
'T  is  my  belief  the  young  lady  up-stairs  is  your  sweet- 
heart, else  you  would  n't  be  so  anxious  to  have  your 
head  blowed  off  for  her  sake." 

Jack  knew  that  he  was  blushing  fiery  red.  He  struck 
at  Dred,  and  burst  out  laughing.  "  You  're  a  fool, 
Chris  Dred,  to  talk  that  way.  Why,  I  hav'  n't  spoken 
fifty  words  to  her  this  week." 

Dred  struck  back  at  Jack  and  laughed.  "All  the 
same,  't  is  my  belief  she  's  your  sweetheart,"  he  said. 
"  Well,  let 's  go  and  have  a  look  at  the  yawl,  and  then 
we  '11  ax  her  if  she  's  willing  to  trust  us  to  help  her 
away  from  here  ? " 

"  What ! "  cried  Jack,  "  you  don't  mean  to  go  to-night, 
do  you  ? " 

"  Why  not  ?  "  said  Dred.  "  If  we  makes  up  our  mind 
to  go  at  all,  't  is  no  use  to  put  it  off.  "  To-night  's  as 
good  a  night  as  we  're  like  to  have,  and  the  longer  we 
leave  it  to  think  about,  the  harder  't  will  be  to  do." 


CHAPTER   XXXIV 


THE   ESCAPE 


JACK  did  not  —  lie  could  not  —  immediately  realize 
that  he  was  now  actually,  so  suddenly,  and  so  un- 
expectedly, to  undertake  that  which  he  had  dreamed 
of  and  vaguely  planned  that  day.  It  was  not  until  he 
saw  Dred  in  the  act  of  lacing  his  shoes,  not  until  he  saw 
him  in  the  act  of  putting  on  his  coat  and  taking  his  hat 
down  from  the  peg  behind  the  door,  that  it  really  came 
upon  him  to  thrill  with  that  keen  pang  that  sometimes 
heralds  the  immediate  performance  of  some  pregnant 
act  of  life.  Then  he  did  thrill,  stretching  himself  with 
that  sudden  nervous  tension  that  perhaps  all  of  us  have 
sometimes  felt.  There  was  something  about  the  fact 
of  Dred  lacing  his  shoes,  and  putting  on  his  coat  and 
hat,  that  made  the  certainty  of  what  he  was  embarked 
upon  very  present  and  very  real.  In  one  little  hour, 
now,  he  might  be  upon  his  way  back  to  Virginia  again, 
and  once  more  he  thrilled  keenly  and  poignantly  at 
the  thought, 

Dred  opened  the  stair  door  and  stood  listening  for  a 
while,  but  all  was  perfectly  still  and  hushed  above. 
The  pirate's  wife  had  evidently  gone  to  sleep  with  the 
instant  sleep  of  a  tired  woman.  Then  Dred  closed  the 
door  again,  and,  nodding  to  Jack,  led  the  way  out  into 
the  darkness  of  the  night.  Here  again  they  stood  for  a 
while,  the  night  air  breathing  chilly  about  them,  while 
Dred  listened.    But  there  was  not  a  breath  of  sound, 


265 


266  JACK   BALLISTER'S   FOETUNES 

not  a  glimmer  of  light.  Then  together  they  walked 
around  to  the  end  of  the  house  where  Jack  had  before 
stopped  to  speak  to  the  young  lady  that  evening.  Jack 
went  over  beneath  the  open  window,  and  called  to  her 
in  the  same  whispering  voice  he  had  used  before,  Dred 
waiting  the  while  at  the  corner  of  the  house,  keeping  a 
sharp  lookout.  Jack  had  to  call  again  and  again ;  for, 
whether  she  failed  to  hear  him,  or  whether  she  did  not 
choose  to  immediately  reply,  it  was  some  time  before 
the  young  lady  showed  her  face.  "When  she  did  appear 
at  the  window,  she  stood  for  a  while  as  though  dazed, 
and  listened  to  what  he  had  to  tell  her  as  though  not 
understanding  what  he  said.  He  had  to  repeat  to  her 
that  he  and  Dred  had  come  to  do  what  he  had  promised 
to  do  that  evening  —  to  take  her  away  back  home  again 
to  Virginia  if  she  were  willing  to  go  with  them.  "  To 
take  me  away?"  she  said,  vaguely;  and  then,  as  the 
meaning  of  it  all  broke  upon  her,  she  cried  out,  "Oh, 
do !  Oh,  do  take  me  away !  For  heaven's  sake,  take 
me  away  from  here  ! " 

"  We  will,  we  will !  That  is  what  we  have  come  for," 
said  Jack.  But  she  did  not  seem  to  hear  him,  but  cried 
out  again  and  vehemently,  "If  you  only  will  take  me 
away,  I  '11  do  anything  in  the  world  for  you ;  and  my 
father  will  do  anything  for  you.  Oh,  please,  kind, 
good  men,  do  take  me  away ! " 

She  was  perhaps  hysterical  from  the  dreadful  fright 
she  must  have  suffered  in  the  morning,  and,  as  the  un- 
derstanding of  a  possible  escape  came  upon  her,  she 
appeared  to  forget  all  caution.  Jack  was  so  struck  by 
her  sudden  passion  that  he  did  not  know  what  to  say  to 
check  her ;  but  Dred  came  hurrying  up,  and  warned  her 
in  a  whisper  to  be  still :  "  We  mean  to  help  you  to  get 
away,  mistress,"  he  said,  in  a  breathing  whisper;  "but  if 
ye  takes  on  so  as  to  distm*b  everybody  in  the  house  and 
wake  'em  up,  why,  we  can't  do  anything  to  help  you." 


THE   ESCAPE  267 

They  could  see  that  she  put  a  great  restraint  upon 
herself,  trying  to  stifle  her  crying,  clinging  to  the  frame 
of  the  lifted  window-sash.  Then  she  seemed  to  sud- 
denly remember  that  her  clothes  had  been  taken  away, 
and  that  the  pirate's  wife  had  locked  the  door  upon  her. 
"  But  my  clothes ! "  she  cried.  "  I  had  forgot  them,  and 
then  the  door  is  locked,  too.  I  can't  get  away,  after  all. 
Oh,  I  know  I  never  shall  get  away  from  here  ! " 

"Yes,  you  will,  mistress,"  said  Dred;  "don't  you 
fret  about  that,  now.  Jack,  here,  shall  fetch  you  your 
clothes,  for  they  're  only  just  inside,  and  I  '11  go  bring 
the  ladder  from  the  shed  over  yonder,  and  so  you  can 
get  down  as  quick  as  a  wink.  Don't  you  fret  and  cry 
any  more ;  you  get  yourself  dressed  as  quick  as  you 
can  after  Jack  fetches  your  clothes,  and  we  two  '11  go 
down  and  get  the  boat  ready.  Then  we  '11  come  back 
for  you.  Just  you  get  ready,  and  we  '11  be  ready  for 
you." 

Jack  hurried  off,  glad  to  do  something  for  her  that 
might  soothe  her.  He  entered  the  house  very  quietly, 
and  had  no  difficulty  in  finding  the  clothes  that  Betty 
had  thrown  into  the  hutch.  When  he  returned  with 
them  he  found  that  Dred  had  already  brought  the 
ladder,  and  set  it  up  against  the  side  of  the  house.  He 
climbed  part  way  up  the  ladder,  and  reached  the  bundle 
silently  up  to  her  as  she  reached  down  for  it. 

His  heart  was  very  full  of  her  as  he  and  Dred  walked 
down  to  the  boat  together.  "  Pore  young  thing ! "  said 
Dred.  "'T  was  as  if  the  thought  of  going  had  nigh 
broke  her  heart,"  and  Jack  nodded  his  head  without 
speaking. 

As  they  approached  the  waterside  the  broad  mouth 
of  the  creek  stretched  out  dim  and  misty  before  them 
into  the  night.  The  trees  of  the  further  shore  stood  out 
obscurely  in  the  darkness,  and  the  pallid,  rippling  sur- 
face of  the  water  seemed  to  stretch  away  to  dim,  infi- 


268  JACK  BALLISTEE'S   FOKTUNES 

nite  distance.  The  little  waves  beat  with  a  recurrent 
and  pulsing  plash  and  slide  upon  the  beach,  and  the 
chill  air  was  full  of  the  smell  of  brackish  water  and  of 
marshy  ooze. 

The  yawl,  a  big,  clumsy,  broad-beamed,  open  boat, 
lay  drawn  up  on  the  beach  near  to  the  landing.  The 
mast,  with  the  sails  furled  close  and  snug,  the  gaff,  and 
the  long  oars  lay  along  the  thwarts.  Jack  helped  Dred 
step  the  mast,  and  together  they  partly  loosened  the 
reef-points  so  that  the  sail  hung  limp  and  ready  to  be 
spread  at  a  moment's  notice.  There  was  a  small  bar- 
raca  nearly  half -full  of  water  in  the  bow  of  the  boat. 
Dred  lifted  it  out,  drew  the  plug,  smelled  briefly  at 
the  water,  and  then  turned  it  out  upon  the  sand.  Then 
he  sat  down  upon  the  rail  for  a  talk,  while  the  water 
glugged  and  gurgled  out  of  the  keg  upon  the  beach. 
"  D'  ye  see,"  he  began,  "  I  look  at  this  here  affair  this 
way.  'T  is  not  as  though  I  was  playing  the  captain 
false,  d'  ye  see?  for  I  was  dead  set  against  this  here 
venture  from  the  very  first,  and  he  went  into  it  in  spite 
of  me.  I  did  n't  want  the  girl  fetched  here,  and  I 
told  him  he  would  be  getting  hisself  into  bitter  trouble 
if  he  did  fetch  her.  Well,  he  would  do  it,  and  now  't  is 
just  as  I  said.  Now,  d'  ye  see,  't  is  either  to  take  this 
young  lady  away,  or  else  to  sit  by  and  see  her  die,  as 
she  's  bound  to  do  if  she  lives  here  much  longer ;  and 
't  is  as  bad  for  the  captain  one  way  as  't  is  another. 
If  she  dies  on  his  hands  he  '11  be  hung  for  sure,  and  if 
she  gets  away,  the  whole  jDrovince  of  Virginny  '11  be 
down  here  to  roast  him  out;  and  either  way  't  is  as 
bad  as  can  be,  and  nothing  gained  if  she  dies.  Well, 
then,  I  don't  choose  to  sit  by,  and  let  her  die,  and  no 
good  come  of  it.  My  neck  's  mightily  precious  to  me, 
for  't  is  all  I  've  got ;  and  if  I  can  save  it  from  being 
stretched  by  taking  her  back  home  again,  why  not  do 
it  —  can  ye  tell  me  that  ? " 


THE   ESCAPE  269 

"  What  you  say  's  true  enough,  Dred,"  said  Jack. 

But  Dred  appeared  to  be  speaking  more  for  himself 
than  for  Jack,  and  he  sat  for  a  while  in  silence.  The 
water  had  all  run  out  from  the  keg,  but  still  he  did  not 
move.  Then  he  suddenly  began  speaking  again. 
u  There  's  summat  as  I  don't  know  as  I  ever  told  ye 
about,  lad.  D'  ye  remember  my  telling  you  once  how 
I  shot  a  young  gentleman  aboard  an  English  bark  the 
captain  took  some  two  years  or  more  ago  ?  " 

"  Yes,  I  do,"  said  Jack.  And  then  an  instant  light 
flashed  upon  him.  Dennis  had  several  times  told  how 
young  Mr.  Edward  Parker  had  been  killed  by  the  pirates, 
but  the  coincidence  had  never  before  struck  him.  It 
had  never  before  occurred  to  him  to  parallel  the  trag- 
edy of  young  Mr.  Parker  with  the  story  Dred  had  told 
him  about  shooting  a  young  gentleman  aboard  the 
Duchess  Mary ;  nor  is  it  likely  that  he  would  have 
thought  of  it  now,  only  for  the  very  meaning  tone  in 
which  Dred  spoke.  "  Why,  then,  was  it  you  shot  Mr. 
Edward  Parker  ?  "  he  cried  out,  and  he  could  see  in  the 
gloom  that  Dred  nodded  his  head.  It  was  only  after 
quite  a  while  that  Dred  said,  "  Ay,  't  was  I  shot  him, 
and  now  you  knows  it."  Jack  sat  looking  intently  at 
him  through  the  glimmering  darkness.  "Now,  what 
I  mean  to  say  is  this,"  he  continued;  "when  we  gets 
back  to  Virginny,  don't  you  go  telling  to  anybody  that 
I  was  ever  mixed  up  in  that  there  business,  for 't  would 
mean  hanging  for  me  if  you  did.  What 's  done  can't  be 
cured,  and  't  would  only  get  me  into  a  peck  of  trouble 
if  you  was  to  talk  about  it.  D'  ye  see,  if  I  'm  going  to 
take  the  trouble  and  risk  of  carrying  this  young  lady 
back  to  her  father,  why,  I  ought  to  get  paid  for  it,  and 
not  get  hung  at  the  end  of  all  my  trouble." 

''  I  '11  not  say  anything  about  it,"  said  Jack.  "  I 
never  thought  of  it  being  you  who  shot  the  young  gen- 
tleman.   So  far  as  I  'm  concerned,  I  sha'  n't  say  a  word 


270  JACK   BALLISTEK'S   FOETUNES 

about  it ;  but  how  about  the  captain  ?  Won't  he  be  Ukely 
to  tell  about  it  for  the  sake  of  getting  even  with  you  1 " 

"  That  for  the  captain ! "  said  Dred,  with  a  gesture. 
"Who  'U  mind  what  he  says?  If  Colonel  Parker  's 
going  to  give  me  anything  for  bringing  his  gell  back 
he  '11  give  it,  and  then  away  I  goes  out  of  harm's  way. 
By  the  time  the  captain 's  had  time  to  talk,  why,  I  may 
be  as  far  away  as  Indjy  or  Cochin  Chiny." 

Then  he  arose  and  picked  up  the  empty  barraca  and 
led  the  way  up  to  the  house. 

It  was  maybe  half  an  hour  before  eveiything  was 
ready  for  the  departure.  Beside  a  barraca  of  fresh 
water,  they  brought  down  and  stowed  away  in  the  boat 
a  ham,  a  flitch  of  bacon,  a  bag  and  a  half  of  biscuit,  and 
a  lemon  net  full  of  yams.  Everything  was  done  so 
silently  that  the  pirate  captain  and  his  wife  and  the 
wounded  Hands  slept  on  undisturbed  by  their  prepa- 
rations. Then,  all  being  ready,  they  shoved  the  yawl 
off  from  the  shore,  and  drew  it  around  to  the  end  of  the 
wharf,  where  they  lashed  it  with  stern-liues  and  bow- 
lines to  the  piles.  "  Now,  lad,"  said  Dred,  "  we  're  ready 
to  start ;  and  if  you  '11  go  up  and  fetch  the  young  lady, 
I  '11  go  up  to  the  house  and  bring  down  the  two  storm- 
coats.  Like  enough  we  '11  need  'em  afore  we  gets  to 
the  end  of  our  cruise." 

Jack  found  Miss  Eleanor  Parker  ready,  and  waiting 
for  him.  He  climbed  the  ladder  to  the  window,  and  she 
handed  him  out  her  traveling-bag.  Then  he  noiselessly 
assisted  her  to  the  ladder,  and  thence  to  the  ground. 
He  did  not  say  anything  to  her  nor  she  to  him,  as  they 
walked  rapidly  away  together  in  the  silence  down  to- 
ward the  boat.  Before  they  had  gone  very  far  they 
caught  up  with  Dred,  carrying  the  two  storm-coats.  He 
opened  one  of  the  pockets,  and  showed  Jack  that  he  had 
brought  Captain  Teach's  case-bottle,  which  had  been 
newly  filled  with  rum,  and  he  burst  out  into  a  soundless 


THE   ESCAPE  271 

laugh  as  he  dropped  the  bottle  back  into  the  pocket 
agaiu.  "  A  cruise  with  a  girl  and  a  boy,"  he  said,  "  and 
a  yawl-boat  for  to  cruise  in  !  What  d'  ye  think  of  that 
for  a  bloody  salt  like  I  be  ? "  and  he  fetched  Jack  a  slap 
on  the  back.  Jack  could  smell  the  fumes  of  rum  upon 
his  breath,  and  he  knew  that  Dred  must  have  been 
taking  a  drink  before  he  left  the  house.  He  did  not 
reply,  and  after  that  they  walked  on  in  silence  down  to 
the  little  wharf  and  out  to  where  the  yawl  lay  at  the 
end  of  the  landing. 

"I  tell  ye  what 't  is,  mistress,"  said  Dred;  "if  your 
father  don't  stand  to  me  for  this  here,  there  's  no  such 
thing  as  thankfulness  in  the  world.  I  tell  you,  he 
ought  to  pay  me  well  for  doing  this,  and  trying  to  get 
you  back  home  again." 

"Indeed  —  indeed,  my  father  '11  never  forget  what 
you  're  doing  for  me ! "  she  cried.  "  Nor  shall  I  ever 
forget  it  either,  but  will  be  grateful  to  you  both  for  as 
long  as  ever  I  live."  Then  Jack  and  Dred  helped  her 
down  into  the  boat.  As  Dred  stepped  forward  to 
spread  the  sail.  Jack  pushed  the  yawl  off  with  one  of 
the  oars,  and  it  drifted  slowly  away  from  the  end  of 
the  little  wharf  into  the  broad,  dim,  night-lit  waters 
of  the  creek.  Then  he  turned  to  help  Dred  loose  the 
sail,  the  boat  drifting  slowly  further  and  further  away 
into  the  pallid  night,  and  the  young  lady  sitting  silent 
and  motionless  in  the  stern  thwarts. 


CHAPTEE    XXXV 

THE  BEGINNING   OF   THE  VOYAGE 

AT  fii'st  the  three  fugitives  —  the  young  lady  and  Jack 
J^  and  Dred  —  sailed  away  in  silence.  The  wind  blew 
swiftly,  and  the  dark,  silent  shores  seemed  to  slide 
away  strangely  and  mysteriously  behind  them.  As  they 
ran  out  into  the  broad,  misty  waters  of  the  greater  river, 
the  distorted  half -moon  was  just  rising  from  a  bank  of 
clouds  in  the  east,  and  a  sort  of  obscure  light  lit  up 
everything  indistinctly.  The  wind  was  blowing  fresh 
and  cool,  and  as  the  boat  came  further  and  further 
out  into  the  wider  waters  it  began  to  pitch  and  dance. 
"  About ! "  called  Dred,  and,  as  he  put  down  the  tiller 
and  drew  in  the  sheet,  hand  over  hand,  the  sail  flap- 
ping and  fluttering,  Jack  and  the  young  lady  crouched, 
and  the  boom  came  swinging  over.  The  boat  heeled 
over  upon  the  other  course,  and  then  drove  forward 
swiftly  with  a  white  splash  of  loud  water  at  the  bow, 
and  a  long  misty  wake  traihng  behind,  flashing  every 
now  and  then  with  a  sudden  dull  sparkle  of  pallid  phos- 
phorescence. 

Neither  Jack  nor  Dred  had  spoken  anything  to  the 
young  lady  since  they  had  left  the  wharf  behind,  and 
she  sat  silent  and  motionless  in  the  stern  where  they 
had  placed  her.  Jack  had  gone  forward  to  raise  the 
peak  a  little  higher.  As  he  came  back,  stepping  over 
the  thwarts,  he  looked  at  her ;  her  face  shone  faint  and 
pallid  in  the  moonlight,  and  he  saw  her  shudder.  ""V\Tiy, 
mistress,"  he  said,  "  you  are  shivering  —  are  you  cold  ? " 

272 


.lAOK    AND    DRED    RESCUE    ELEANOR  —  THE    START. 


THE   BEGINNING   OF   THE   VOYAGE  273 

"  No,  I  'm  not  cold,"  said  she,  in  a  hoarse,  dry  voice. 
And  then,  for  the  first  time,  Jack  noticed  the  sparkle  of 
tears  upon  her  cheeks.  Dred  was  looking  at  her,  and 
perhaps  saw  the  tears  at  the  same  time. 

"  Here,"  said  he,  suddenly,  "  put  on  this  overcoat ; 
't  will  make  you  more  comfortable."  She  protested 
feebly,  but  Dred  and  Jack  persisted,  and  Jack  held  the 
coat  for  her  as  she  slipped  her  arms  into  it. 

"  There  's  a  scarf  in  the  traveling-bag  yonder,"  she 
said.    "  If  you  '11  let  me  have  it  I  '11  put  it  on." 

Jack  reached  the  bag  to  her,  and  she  placed  it  upon 
the  seat  beside  her  and  opened  it,  turning  over  the 
clothes  until  she  found  what  she  wanted.  Then  she 
wrapped  the  scarf  around  her  head,  tying  it  in  beneath 
her  chin.  She  felt  in  her  pocket  for  her  handkerchief 
and  wiped  her  eyes.  "  How  long  will  it  take  us  to  get 
back  to  Virginia  ? "  she  asked. 

Jack  looked  at  Dred.     "Why,  I  don't  know,"  said 
Dred.     "  Maybe  not  more  'n  a  week." 
"  A  week ! "  she  repeated. 

"Why,  yes.  Perhaps  not  that  long,  though,"  he 
added,  "  if  the  weather  holds  good,  and  we  're  not 
stopped  any  place."  No  one  said  anything  for  a  while, 
and  the  boat  plunged  swiftly  on,  the  waves,  every  now 
and  then  clapping  against  the  bow,  sending  a  dash  of 
spray  astern,  and  the  water  gurgling  away  noisily  be- 
hind. Suddenly  Dred  turned  toward  the  young' lady 
again.  "  You  must  be  tired,"  he  said.  "  I  know  very 
well  you  must  be  tired." 

"No,  I  'm  not  very  tired,"  said  she,  faintly. 
"  Why,  mistress,  I  know  you  must  be  tired  from  the 
sound  of  your  voice.  Here,  lad  "—to  Jack— "  you  take 
the  tiller  while  I  see  if  I  can  make  her  comfortable. 
Now,  then,"  he  said,  as  he  turned  to  her,  "  you  lie  down 
there  with  your  head  on  this  here  bundle,  and  I  '11 
cover  you  over." 

18 


274  JACK   BALLISTER'S   FORTUNES 

She  obeyed  him  silently,  and  he  covered  her  over  with 
the  second  overcoat,  tucking  it  in  under  her  feet.  "  I  '11 
never  forget  what  you  are  doing  for  me,  as  long  as  I 
live,"  she  said.  "  I  — "  her  lijis  moved,  but  she  could 
not  say  anything  more. 

"  That  's  all  very  well,  mistress,"  said  Dred,  gruffly. 
"Never  you  mind  that,  just  now." 

Jack  looked  long  and  fixedly  at  the  young  lady's  face, 
pallid  in  the  growing  moonlight  which  sparkled  in  her 
dark  eyes ;  she  looked  singularly  beautiful  in  the  white 
light.  "  Where  be  ye  going  ? "  called  out  Dred,  sud- 
denly. "Keep  to  your  course!"  And  then  he  came 
back  to  himself  and  the  things  about  him  with  a  start, 
to  find  the  yawl  falling  off  to  the  wind.  Then  once  more 
Dred  settled  himself  in  his  place,  relieving  Jack  of  the 
tiller.  Presently  he  took  out  his  tobacco-pipe  and  filled 
it.  He  struck  the  fire  with  the  flint  and  steel,  holding 
the  tiller  under  his  arm  as  he  did  so.  Then  he  lit  his 
pipe,  puffing  hard  at  it  for  a  while.  The  wind  blew 
the  young  lady's  hair  across  her  face  and  she  raised  her 
hand  to  put  it  back.  Jack  half  lay  upon  the  bench  op- 
posite, resting  ujDon  his  elbow,  his  cheek  upon  his  hand. 

"  D'  ye  see,"  said  Dred,  beginning  abruptly  with  the 
thoughts  in  his  mind,  and  without  any  preface,  "  accord- 
ing to  what  I  calculate  they  won't  be  able  to  folly  us 
afore  late  to-morrow  morning.  'T  will  take  'em  some 
time  to  get  a  crew  together  to  man  the  sloop,  and  it 
may  be  ten  o'clock  afore  they  gets  away.  In  course, 
arter  they  do  have  her  manned  they  '11  overhaul  us  fast 
enough ;  but  if  we  have  so  much  start  as  we  're  like  to 
have,  why,  't  is  like  we  '11  keep  our  lead  till  we  get  up 
into  the  Sound."  Jack  listened,  saying  nothing.  In  spite 
of  himself  he  was  dozing  off  every  now  and  then,  and 
awakening  with  a  start.  As  Dred  talked  to  him,  the 
words  came  distantly  to  his  ears.  "D'  ye  see,"  said 
Dred,  after  puffing  away  at  his  pipe  for  a  while  in  si- 


THE  BEGINNING  OF  THE  VOYAGE  275 

lence  —  and  once  more  Jack  aroused  from  the  doze  with 
a  start  at  the  sound  of  his  voice  —  "  D'  ye  see,  what 
we  '11  have  to  do  '11  be  to  sail  up  into  Albemarle  Sound, 
past  Roanoke  Island  and  so  into  Currituck  Sound.  The 
waters  there  be  shoal,  and  even  if  the  sloop  should  folly 
us  we  can  keep  out  of  her  way,  maybe,  over  the  shal- 
lows. Old  Currituck  Inlet — if  't  is  anything  like  I  used 
to  know  it  three  year  ago  —  is  so  as  we  can  get  over  it 
at  high  tide  in  the  north  channel ;  that  is,  we  may  if  the 
bar  ain't  closed  it  yet.  The  sloop  can't  folly  through 
the  inlet;  she  draws  too  much  water  for  that,  and  if 
we  once  get  there,  d'  ye  see,  we  're  safe  enough  from 
all  chase.  Contrarywise,  if  they  run  down  to  Ocracock, 
thinking  we  took  that  way  —  what  with  running  so 
far  down  into  the  Sound  and  we  having  the  gain  on 
'em  of  so  much  start,  they  'd  have  as  poor  chance  as 
ever  you  saw  in  your  life  to  overhaul  us  afore  we  gets 
inside  of  Cape  Henry.     D'  ye  understand  f  " 

Again  Jack  had  dropped  off  into  a  dim  sleep ;  at  the 
last  question  he  awoke  with  a  start.  "What  did  you 
say,  Dred  I "  he  asked  ;  "  I  did  n't  hear  the  last  part." 

Dred  looked  keenly  at  him  for  a  moment  or  two; 
then  he  took  the  pipe  out  of  his  mouth  and  puffed  out 
a  cloud  of  smoke.  "  Well,"  he  said,  "  it  don't  matter 
no  way.    You  lay  down  and  go  to  sleep." 

"No,  I  won't,"  said  Jack.  "I  '11  just  rest  this  way." 
He  was  lying  upon  the  thwart,  his  head  propped  upon 
his  arm.  He  tried  to  stay  awake,  but  presently  he  began 
again  dozing  off,  waking  every  now  and  then  to  find 
Dred  steadily  at  the  helm,  and  the  young  lady  lying 
motionlessly  opposite  to  him.  At  last  he  fell  fairly 
asleep  and  began  dreaming. 

When  he  awoke  again  he  found  the  day  had  broken, 
although  the  sun  had  not  yet  risen.  They  were  running 
down  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  the  shore.  A  dark, 
dense  fringe  of  pine  forest  grew  close  to  the  water's 


276  JACK  BALLISTEK'S  FOETUNES 

edge.  The  breeze  was  falling  away  with  the  coming  of 
the  day,  and  the  boat  was  sailing  slowly,  hardly  careen- 
ing at  all  to  the  wind. 

Jack  sat  up,  looking  about  him,  and  then  at  the  young 
lady,  and  there  his  gaze  rested.  She  looked  very  white 
and  wan,  but  she  was  sleeping  deeply  and  peacefully, 
her  eyelids  closed,  and  the  long,  dark  lashes  resting 
softly  on  her  cheek.  Dred  followed  Jack's  look,  and 
there  his  eyes  rested  also.  As  Jack  moved,  stretching 
his  stiffened  arms,  Dred  put  his  finger  to  his  lips  and 
Jack  nodded. 

About  a  half  a  league  over  the  bow  of  the  boat  Jack 
could  see  the  wide  mouth  of  a  tributary  inlet  to  the 
Sound.  He  slid  along  the  seat  toward  Dred.  "  What 
water  is  that  over  there  ? "  he  whispered. 

"That  's  the  mouth  of  the  Pungo,"  said  Dred. 
"  I  'm  a-going  to  run  ashore  at  the  p'int,  and  I  hope  the 
wind  '11  hold  to  reach  it.  There  's  a  lookout  tree  there, 
and  I  want  to  take  a  sight  to  see  if  there  's  any  sign 
of  a  chase.  I  don't  know  as  we  '11  get  there  without 
oars,  though,"  he  said,  "for  the  wind  's  dying  down. 
I  tell  you  what  't  is,  lad,  you  'd  better  whistle  your 
best  for  a  breeze;  for  just  now  't  is  worth  gold  and 
silver  to  us,  for  the  furder  we  reaches  now,  the  safer 
we  '11  be.  By  and  by,  about  this  time,  they  '11  be  stir- 
ring at  home  to  find  we  've  gone.  If  we  'd  have  to  lay 
at  the  p'int  yonder  all  day,  't  will  give  'em  a  chance 
to  man  the  sloop  and  be  down  on  us.  As  like  as  not 
they  '11  be  getting  a  slant  o'  wind  afore  we  do,  if  it 
comes  out  from  the  west,  as  't  is  like  to  do." 

Jack  looked  over  the  edge  of  the  boat  and  down 
into  the  brackish  water,  clear  but  brown  with  juniper 
stain.  It  seemed  to  him  that  the  yawl  barely  crept 
along.  "  At  this  rate,"  said  Dred,  "  we  're  not  making 
two  knot  an  hour." 

The  sun  rose   round  and  red  over  the  tops  of  the 


THE   BEGINNING   OF   THE   VOYAGE  277 

trees  of  the  distant  further  shore,  and  the  breeze  grew 
lighter  and  Hghter.  Every  now  and  then  the  sail, 
which  lay  almost  flat,  began  to  flutter.  Presently  the 
boom  swayed  inward  a  little,  and  as  it  did  so  a  level  shaft 
of  light  fell  across  the  young  lady's  face.  She  moved 
her  hand  feebly  over  her  face;  then  she  opened  her 
eyes.  Jack  and  Dred  were  gazing  at  her  as  she  did 
so.  First  there  was  a  blank  look  of  newly  awakened 
life  in  her  face,  then  bewilderment,  then  a  light  of 
dawning  consciousness.  Then  she  sat  up  suddenly. 
"Where  am  I?"  she  said,  looking  about  her,  dazed 
and  bewildered. 

"You  're  safe  enough  so  far.  Mistress,"  said  Dred; 
"  and  I  'm  glad  you  're  awake,  for  't  is  high  time  we 
was  taking  to  the  oars.  An  ash  breeze  is  all  we  '11 
be  like  to  have  for  a  while  now."  He  gave  the  tiller 
a  quick  jerk  or  two.  "  Come,  Jack,"  said  he ;  "I  '11 
make  out  well  enough  to  do  the  sailing,  but 't  is  you  '11 
have  to  take  to  the  oars." 

"Very  well,"  said  Jack;  "that  suits  me  well  enough." 

He  drew  out  the  oars,  clattering,  and  dropped  them 
into  the  rowlocks.  Then  he  shot  a  quick  glance  over 
the  bow,  spat  on  his  hands,  and  gripped  the  oars.  As 
he  began  rowing,  the  sail  swung  in  over  the  boat,  and 
Dred  steadied  it  with  one  hand,  holding  the  tiller  with 
the  other.  He  laid  the  bow  of  the  boat  for  a  little 
cypress-tree  that  stood  out  beyond  the  tip  of  the  jDoint 
in  the  water.  Jack  rowed  and  rowed,  and  the  shore 
drew  foot  by  foot  nearer  and  nearer;  and  presently 
they  went  slowly  around  the  point  into  a  little  inlet 
or  bay  sheltered  by  the  woods  that  stretched  out  like 
arms  on  either  side.  Then  the  bow  of  the  boat  grated 
upon  the  sand,  and  Dred  arose  from  where  he  sat. 
"  Here  we  be,"  he  said,  stretching  himself. 

Fronting  upon  the  beach  was  a  little  sandy  bluff 
three   or  four  feet  high,  and  beyond  that  stretched 


278  JACK  BALLISTEE'S  FORTUNES 

away  the  pine  forest,  the  trees  —  their  giant  trunks 
silver-gray  with  resin  —  opening  long,  level  vistas  into 
the  woods  carpeted  with  a  soft  mat  of  brown  needles. 
"  We  '11  go  ashore  here  a  bit,"  said  Dred ;  "  yon  come 
along  o'  me.  Jack,  and  we  '11  go  down  to  the  p'int  to 
the  lookout  tree.  Don't  you  be  afraid  if  we  leave  you 
a  little  while,  mistress ;  we  '11  be  back  afore  long." 

"  I  would  like  to  get  out  of  the  boat  for  a  little 
while  too,"  she  said,  "for  I  'm  mightily  tired." 

"  To  be  sure  you  be,"  said  Dred.  "  Come,  Jack,  lend 
a  hand  to  help  her  young  ladyship  ashore." 

They  spread  out  one  of  the  overcoats  upon  the  sand, 
and  made  her  as  comfortable  as  they  could.  The  sun, 
which  had  now  risen  above  the  tops  of  the  trees, 
shone  warm  and  strong  across  the  broad,  level  stretch 
of  smooth  water.  The  young  lady  sat  gazing  away 
into  the  distance.  "  We  '11  be  back  again  soon,"  said 
Dred.  "  Come  along,  Jack."  She  looked  toward  them 
and  smiled,  but  made  no  other  reply. 

"  Methinks  she  appears  better  already,"  said  Jack,  as 
he  and  Dred  walked  away  together. 

"  Ay,"  said  Dred,  briefly. 

They  walked  down  along  the  sandy  shore  for  some 
little  distance,  and  then  cut  across  a  little  narrow  neck 
of  land  to  the  river  shore  upon  the  other  side.  A 
great,  single  pine-tree  stood  towering  above  the  lower 
growth,  and  there  were  cleats  nailed  to  the  trunk,  lead- 
ing from  the  earth  to  the  high  branches  above.  "  Here 
we  be,"  said  Dred ;  "  and  now  for  a  sight  astern."  He 
laid  aside  his  coat,  and  then  began  ascending  the  tree 
by  means  of  the  cleats.  Jack  watched  him  as  he  climbed 
higher  and  higher  until  he  reached  the  roof-like  spread 
of  branches  far  overhead.  There  he  flung  one  leg  over 
the  topmost  cleat,  and,  holding  fast  to  the  limb,  sat 
looking  steadily  out  toward  the  westward,  his  shirt 
gleaming  white  among  the  branches  against  the  sky 


THE   BEGINNING   OF   THE   VOYAGE  279 

of  the  zeuith.  He  remained  there  for  a  long  time, 
and  then  Jack  saw  him  climbing  down  again.  He 
brushed  his  hands  smartly  together  as  he  leaj^ed  to 
the  ground,  and  then  put  on  his  coat. 

"  Well,"  said  Jack,  "  did  you  see  anything  ?  " 

"  Xo,"  said  Dred,  "  I  did  n't.  'T  is  a  trifle  thick  and 
hazy-like  —  d'  ye  see  1  But  so  far  as  I  could  make  out, 
there  ain't  no  chase  in  sight  yet  awhile." 

The  young  girl,  when  they  returned,  was  walking  up 
and  down  the  beach.  She  hesitated  when  she  saw 
them,  then  came  a  lingering  step  or  two  to  meet  them, 
and  then  stood  waiting. 

"  I  see  naught  so  far,  mistress,"  said  Dred,  when  they 
had  come  up  to  her ;  "so  far  as  I  see  we  're  safe  from 
chase." 

"  You  are  very  good  to  me,"  she  said.  "  I  was  just 
thinking  how  kind  you  are  to  me."  She  looked  from 
one  to  the  other  as  she  spoke,  and  her  eyes  filled  with 
tears.  Jack  looked  sheepish  at  the  sight  of  her  emo- 
tion, and  Dred  touched  his  forehead  with  his  thumb, 
with  rather  an  abashed  salute.  They  stood  for  a  mo- 
ment as  though  not  knowing  what  to  say. 

"  Well,  lad,"  said  Dred,  in  a  loud,  almost  boisterous 
voice,  making  a  pretended  feint  as  though  to  strike  at 
Jack  as  he  spoke,  '"t  is  time  to  be  oif  again  with  an 
ash  breeze,  seeing  as  no  other  don't  come  up  for  to 
help  us.  Every  mile  we  make  now,  d'  ye  see,  is  worth 
ten  furder  on.  As  for  a  bite  to  eat,  why,  we  '11  just 
have  to  take  that  as  we  goes  along.  Come,  mistress, 
get  aboard,  and  we  '11  push  off."  He  helped  the  young 
lady  into  the  boat,  and  then  he  and  Jack  pushed  it  off, 
Jack  running  through  the  water  and  jumping  aboard 
with  a  soaking  splash  of  his  wet  feet. 


CHAPTER  XXXYI 


A   STOP    OVER   NIGHT 


AS  the  day  had  settled  toward  sundown  the  breeze 
had  sj3rung  up  again.  There  was  a  growing  bank 
of  haze  in  the  west  through  which  the  sun  shone 
fainter  and  fainter  as  it  approached  the  horizon  and 
then  was  swallowed  up  and  lost.  The  wind,  blowing 
strong  and  full,  drove  the  water  into  ridges  that  caught 
up  to  the  yawl  as  it  sailed  free  before  the  breeze,  ran 
past  it  swiftly,  and  left  it  behind.  Dred  seemed  almost 
elated.  "  This  be  the  wind  for  luck,"  he  said.  "  Why, 
I  do  suppose  that,  gin  the  captain  the  best  he  could 
have,  we  've  got  a  fifteen-league  start  on  him,  and  he  '11 
never  overhaul  that.  'T  will  blow  up  stiff  from  the 
east'rd  to-morrow,  like  enough,  and  't  will  be  a  cross 
sea  ag'in'  us  beating  up  into  the  head  of  the  Sound, 
but  fifteen  leagues  of  start  means  a  deal,  I  can  tell 
ye.  And,  besides  that,  the  captain  '11  most  likely  sail 
straight  for  Ocracock.  It  be  n't  likely,  d'  ye  see,  that 
he  'd  think  of  running  up  into  the  sounds.  He  'd  think 
that  we  'd  trust  to  our  lead  of  any  chase  and  strike 
right  for  the  open  water  through  Ocracock,  and  he  '11 
not  think  we  'd  try  to  make  through  the  shoals  out 
Currituck  way." 

Jack  had  no  notion  at  all  of  the  geography  of  the 
sounds,  but  he  did  understand  that  while  they  were 
going  one  way,  Blackbeard  would  probably  be  going 
another. 

280 


A"  STOP   OVER  NIGHT  281 

Meantime  the  gray  light  of  the  faiUng  day  had  soft- 
ened the  harsh  outlines  of  the  pine  and  cypress  woods 
into  a  mysterious  gloom  of  shadows.  They  were  sail- 
ing now  not  over  two  or  three  furlongs  from  the  shore 
as  they  ran  yawing  along  before  the  wind.  Upon  one 
side  of  them  were  thick  swamp  forests,  upon  the  other 
the  seemingly  limitless  water  of  the  sound,  reaching 
away  its  restless  gray  without  any  sign  of  a  further 
shore. 

So  they  sailed  for  a  while  in  silence,  the  gray  light 
growing  duller  and  still  more  dull.  "  Do  you  know," 
said  Dred,  suddenly  speaking,  "there  's  a  settlement 
up  beyond  that  island  yonder  —  or  leastwise  there  was 
some  houses  there  three  or  four  year  ago.  I  knowed 
the  man  what  lived  there  then,  and  I  'm  going  to  put 
in,  d'  ye  see,  and  find  out  whether  he  lives  there  yet 
awhile.  If  he  do,  I  '11  get  him  to  let  us  stay  over  night. 
D'  ye  see,  I  can't  stand  sailing  forever,  and  the  young 
lady  can't  stand  it,  neither.  So  we  '11  make  a  stop  here, 
if  we  're  able.  Like  enough  we  '11  make  another  in 
Shallowbag  Bay  in  Roanoke  Island.  Arter  that  we  '11 
make  a  straight  stretch  for  Currituck." 

Jack  was  looking  out  ahead  at  the  island  of  which 
Dred  had  spoken.  It  was  separated  by  a  little  inlet 
from  the  wooded  shores.  Dred  laid  his  course  toward 
a  point  of  land  that  jutted  out  into  the  water,  and  the 
shore  slid  swiftly  away  behind  them  as  they  rushed 
onward  before  the  wind.  "  How  far  is  it  to  the  settle- 
ment?" asked  Jack. 

"Just  beyond  the  p'int  yonder,"  said  Dred,  briefly. 
He  was  looking  steadily  out  ahead. 

As  they  came  nearer  to  the  point,  the  waters  of  a 
little  bay  began  to  open  out  before  them.  It  spread 
wider  and  wider,  and  at  last  they  were  clear  of  the  jut- 
ting point.  Then  Jack  saw  the  settlement  of  which 
Dred  had  spoken. 


282  JACK   BALLISTEE'S   FORTUNES 

There  was  a  slight  rise  of  cleared  land,  at  the  summit 
of  which  perched  a  group  of  four  or  five  huts  or  cabins. 
They  were  built  of  logs  and  unpainted  boards  beaten 
gray  with  the  weather.  Two  of  the  houses  showed  some 
signs  of  being  inhabited ;  the  others  were  plainl}^  empty 
and  deserted,  and  falling  to  ruin.  Near  the  houses  was 
a  field  of  Indian  corn  dried  brown  with  the  autumn 
season,  and  there  were  two  or  three  scrubby  patches  of 
sweet  potatoes,  but  there  was  no  other  sign  of  culti- 
vation. 

Dred  put  down  the  tiller  and  drew  in  the  sheet,  and 
the  boat,  heeling  over  to  the  wind  that  now  caught  her 
abeam,  met  the  waves  splashing  and  dashing  as  it  drove 
forward  upon  its  other  course.  Gradually  the  trees  shut 
off  the  rougher  sea,  and  then  the  yawl  sailed  more 
smoothly  and  easily.  Presently  a  dog  began  barking  up 
at  one  of  the  houses,  and  then  two  or  three  joined  in,  and 
Jack  could  see  the  distant  hounds  dim  in  the  twilight 
gray  of  the  falling  evening,  running  down  from  the 
houses  toward  the  landing.  At  the  continued  noise  of 
their  barking  several  figures  appeared  at  the  door  of  the 
two  cabins  —  first  a  man,  then  two  or  three  half-naked 
children,  then  a  woman.  Then  a  young  woman  came 
to  the  door  of  the  other  cabin  with  a  baby  in  her  arms, 
and  a  young  man.  "Ay,"  said  Dred,  "that  be  Bill 
Gosse,  for  certain."  Then  finally  the  boat  grated  upon 
the  shore,  the  sail  falling  off  flapping  and  clattering  in 
the  wind,  and  the  voyage  of  the  day  was  ended. 

The  man  who  had  first  appeared  went  into  the  house, 
the  next  moment  coming  out  with  a  tattered  hat  upon  his 
head.  He  came  down  toward  the  landing,  the  children 
following  him  scatteringly,  and  the  woman  standing  in 
the  doorway,  looking  down  toward  them.  The  young 
man  was  also  coming  slouching  behind.  Dred  and  Jack 
had  lowered  the  peak  and  had  begun  to  take  in  the 
boom  when  the  man  reached  the  shore.    Jack  looked  at 


A  STOP   OVER  NIGHT  283 

liim  with  a  good  deal  of  curiosity,  and  the  young  lady 
sat  in  the  stern  thwarts  also  gazing  at  him.  He  was 
tall  and  lean  and  sallow.  A  straggling  beard  covered 
his  thin  cheeks  and  chin,  and  a  mat  of  hair  plaited  be- 
hind hung  down  in  a  queue.  He  was  in  his  shirt-sleeves, 
and  he  wore  a  pair  of  baggy  breeches  tied  at  the  knees. 
"  Hullo,  Bill ! "  said  Dred.     "  How  be  ye  ?  " 

"  Be  that  you,  Chris  Dred  ?  "  said  the  man  in  a  slow, 
dull  voice.     "  Who  've  ye  got  there  with  ye  ? " 

"  This  !  This  here  is  a  young  Virginny  lady  of  qual- 
ity," said  Dred.  "  She  's  been  took  sick,  and  we — this 
lad  and  me — is  carrying  her  back  home  again.  I  '11  tell 
ye  all  about  that  by  and  by.  What  I  want  to  know  now 
is,  will  you  take  us  in  for  the  night  ?  The  holy  truth  is, 
I  'm  just  getting  over  the  fever,  and  this  here  young 
lady,  as  I  said,  be  sick  too.  We  've  been  sailing  all 
day,  and  so  I  thought  maybe  you  'd  let  us  make  port 
here  for  the  night." 

The  man  stood  stolidly  watching  Dred  and  Jack  furl 
and  tie  up  the  sail.  He  did  not  offer  to  help  them. 
"  Where  did  ye  come  from  ?  "  he  asked,  at  last,  in  the 
same  slow,  heavy  voice. 

"  Down  from  the  Pungo,"  said  Dred. 

"  Well,  you  'd  better  come  up  to  the  house  and  talk 
to  my  woman,"  said  the  man,  answering  Dred's  initial 
question.  "I  be  willing  enough  for  you  to  stay,  so 
far  as  I  'm  concerned." 

"  Very  well,"  said  Dred,  "  so  I  will.  You  wait  here. 
Jack,  till  I  come  back  again." 

He  stepped  stiffly  out  of  the  boat,  and  then  the  two 
went  away  together.  The  young  man  who  had  also  come 
down  to  the  shore  remained  behind,  squatted  upon  the 
ground,  staring  fixedly  at  Jack  and  the  young  lady,  who 
looked  back  at  him  with  a  good  deal  of  interest. 

"  I  do  hope  the  good  woman  '11  let  us  stay  all  night," 
said  the  young  lady,  suddenly  breaking  the  long  silence. 


284  JACK   BALLISTER'S   FORTUNES 

"  Indeed  I  feel  mightily  tired,  and  if  I  could  only  rest  for 
that  long  I  know  it  would  do  me  a  vast  deal  of  good." 

"  She  '11  let  you  stay,"  said  the  young  man.  "  That  '11 
be  all  right,  mistress." 

Just  then  Dred  reappeared,  coming  back  alone  from 
the  house  down  through  the  twilight,  and  confirmed 
what  the  young  man  had  said.  "  'T  is  all  right,"  he  said, 
"  and  they  '11  give  us  a  berth  for  the  night.  Come 
along,  mistress,  I  '11  help  you." 

Miss  Eleanor  Parker  rose,  stiffened  with  the  long  sit- 
ting in  the  boat,  supporting  herself  with  her  hand  upon 
the  rail.  Dred  reached  out  a  hand  and  helped  her  out 
over  the  thwarts  and  to  the  beach.  Then  he  climbed 
into  the  boat,  and  taking  the  case-bottle  of  rum  out  of 
the  locker,  slipped  it  into  his  pocket. 

The  woman  and  the  three  children  stood  in  the  door- 
way watching  the  three  as  they  approached.  As  Jack 
entered  he  looked  back  and  saw  that  the  young  man 
was  bending  over  the  yawl,  examining  it  curiously. 

The  house  consisted  of  one  large  room.  There  was  a 
fireplace  at  one  end  of  it;  two  benches,  and  two  or  three 
rickety  chairs,  a  table,  and  two  beds  comprised  the 
furniture.  The  man  was  standing  by  the  fireplace 
with  an  empty  pipe  between  his  lips.  "  This  here  is 
the  young  lady,"  said  Dred  to  the  woman.  "  I  dare  say 
she  'd  like  to  lie  down  now  a  bit  while  you  're  getting 
supper  ready,"  and  Miss  Eleanor  Parker  acknowledged 
that  she  was  very  tired, 

"  Was  n't  that  there  Captain  Teach's  yawl-boat? "  the 
man  asked  of  Dred. 

"  Ay,"  said  Dred. 

"  I  thought  I  knowed  her,"  the  man  said. 

Almost  as  soon  as  she  had  eaten  her  supper,  the  young 
lady  went  again  and  lay  down  upon  the  bed.  Then  Dred 
brought  out  the  case-bottle  of  rum,  and  he  and  the  two 


A   STOP   OVER  NIGHT  285 

men  began  drinking.  Jack  watched  them  with  growing 
apprehension,  for  they  were  helping  themselves  very 
freely.  He  thonght  every  moment  Dred  would  cork  the 
bottle  again,  but  he  did  not  do  so,  and  gradually  the 
effect  of  the  drink  began  to  show  itself.  Jack  could  see 
that  Dred  was  taking  more  of  it  than  he  should.  He 
began  to  talk  more  volubly,  and  the  stolid  silence  of 
the  men  began  to  melt  also.  The  older  man  became 
at  times  almost  quarrelsome.  He  repeated  the  same 
thing  over  and  over  again,  and  the  young  man  would 
laugh  foolishly  at  everything  that  was  said.  Jack  looked 
toward  the  young  lady,  wondering  whether  she  was 
conscious  of  what  was  going  on.  But  she  lay  perfectly 
quiet  and  motionless,  and  he  thought  that  maybe  she 
did  not  perceive  it.  "Won't  you  come  over  and  join 
us  f "  said  Dred,  waving  the  bottle  toward  Jack,  and 
then  taking  a  drink  himself. 

"  No,"  said  Jack,  "  I  won't." 

"  Why  not  ?  "  said  the  man.  "  You  be  n't  too  proud 
to  drink  with  us,  be  you  ?  " 

"  No,  I  'm  not,"  said  Jack,  shortly,  "  but  I  don't  choose 
to.  I  'm  tired,  and  I  wish  you  'd  stop  drinking  yom*- 
selves." 

"  You  be  too  proud  by  half,"  the  man  said,  thickly ; 
"  that  be  the  trouble  with  you.     You  be  too  proud." 

The  young  man  laughed  and  wiped  his  mouth  with 
his  fingers.  "  Why,  no,  Jack  hain't  proud,"  said  Dred; 
"  Jack  and  I  've  been  messmates  for  many  a  day,  hain't 
we.  Jack  ?  D'  ye  know,  he  was  kidnapped  from  Eng- 
land. His  uncle  over  there  is  a  rich  lord  or  summat  of 
the  sort.  Anyways,  he  's  got  a  stack  of  money.  Hain't 
that  so.  Jack"?  " 

"I  don't  care,"  said  the  man,  "who  he  be.  The  trouble 
with  him  is  he  be  too  jjroud — that's  what 's  the  trouble 
with  him.  When  a  man  axes  me  to  come  and  drink  with 
him,  I  don't  care  who  he  be,  I  goes.    I  would  n't  be  too 


286  JACK  BALLISTER'S   FOETUNES 

proud  to  drink  —  no,  not  if  I  was  a  lord  instead  of  a 
beggarly  runaway." 

"  He  be  n't  no  runaway,"  said  Dred.  "  He  and  me 
was  two  of  Blackbeard's  men.  Now  we  be  our  own 
men.  We  be  taking  that  there  young  lady  back  to 
Virginny."  Then  he  leaned  across  the  table  and  whis- 
pered hoarsely,  "  She  's  a  beauty  —  she  is." 

His  hoarse  whisper  sounded  very  loud  through  the 
cabin.  Jack  shot  a  look  at  the  young  lady,  but  she  did 
not  move  or  seem  to  notice  what  was  said.  "  I  wish  you  'd 
be  still,  Dred,"  he  said ;  "  you  're  drinking  more  than 
you  ought,  and  you  don't  know  what  you  're  saying." 

Dred  looked  gloomily  at  him  for  a  while.  "  You  mind 
your  business,  lad,"  he  said,  "  and  I  '11  mind  mine.  I 
know  what  I  'm  doing  and  what  I  'm  saying  well 
enough." 

Jack  made  no  reply.  He  curled  himself  up  on  the 
bench  and  shut  his  eyes.  Dred  sat  still,  looking  mood- 
ily at  him  for  a  little  while.  "  You  think  I  be  drinking 
more  than  I  ought,  do  you?"  But  still  Jack  did  not 
reply  nor  open  his  eyes.  "I  '11  drink  as  much  as  I 
choose,  and  no  man  shall  stop  me." 

"  You  '11  make  yourself  sick  again,  that 's  what  you  '11 
do,"  Jack  said,  shortly. 

He  lay  there  with  his  eyes  closed,  and  presently,  in 
spite  of  himself,  the  events  of  the  day  before  and  the 
sleepless  nights  he  had  passed  began  to  press  upon  him, 
and  he  drifted  off  into  broken  fragments  of  sleep,  through 
which  he  heard  the  men  still  talking  and  laughing.  At 
last,  after  a  while,  he  opened  his  eyes  to  silence.  The 
fire  had  burned  low,  and  the  men  lay  sleeping  on  the 
floor  with  their  feet  turned  toward  the  blaze.  Jack 
arose,  took  up  the  bottle  upon  the  table,  and  shook  it 
beside  his  ear.  There  was  still  a  little  liquor  in  it,  and 
he  corked  it  and  laid  it  behind  him  on  the  bench  so  as 
to  make  sure  it  should  not  be  touched  again. 


CHAPTER  XXXVII 


THE    SECOND   DAY 


THE  woman  was  stirring  early  in  the  morning,  and 
Jack  awoke  with  a  start.  Dred  was  moving  un- 
easily in  his  sleep,  with  signs  of  near  waking  as  Jack 
went  to  the  door  and  looked  out.  It  was  still  hardly 
more  than  the  dawn  of  day.  It  had  clouded  over  during 
the  night,  and  had  been  raining,  as  Dred  had  predicted. 
The  wind  was  now  blowing  swiftly  from  the  east, 
sending  low,  drifting  clouds  hurrying  across  the  sky. 
From  where  he  stood  he  could  see,  through  the  twilight 
gray,  the  white  caps,  churning  every  now  and  then  to 
a  sudden  flash  of  foam  out  across  the  dim  stretch  of 
the  sound,  and  he  thought  to  himself  that  their  voyage 
was  likely  to  prove  very  rough.  Presently  Dred  stood 
beside  him.  He  stood  for  a  while  gazing  out  into  the 
gray  daylight,  as  Jack  had  done,  looking  across  the 
sound ;  then  he  went  out  into  the  open  air.  He  stared 
up  into  the  wet  sky  above,  and  then  all  around  him. 
"  'T  is  likely  we  '11  have  a  stiffish  day  of  it,"  he  said, 
"  but  we  '11  have  to  make  the  most  of  it,  let  us  get  ever 
so  wet.  'T  is  lucky  I  thought  of  fetching  the  overcoats.'^ 
He  said  nothing  about  the  night  before,  and  did  not 
seem  to  remember  that  he  had  been  drinking  more  than 
he  should  have  done.  The  woman  of  the  house  emerged 
from  the  outshed,  carrying  an  armful  of  sticks.  "  Hullo, 
mistress!"  Dred  called  to  her,  "I  wish  you'd  wake  the 
young  lady  and  tell  her  we  've  got  to  be  starting  again. 


287 


288  JACK   BALLISTEK'S   FOETUNES 

Why,  it  must  be  well  on  toward  six  o'clock  by  now, 
allowing  for  this  here  thick  day." 

The  woman  was  smoking  a  short,  black  pipe.  She 
took  it  out  of  her  mouth  with  one  hand.  "  Won't  you 
stay  and  take  a  bite  to  eat  first  ? "  said  she. 

"  Why,  no,  we  won't,"  said  Dred.  "  We  '11  eat  what  we 
want  aboard  the  boat.  We  've  got  a  good  rest,  and  we  're 
beholden  to  ye  for  it."  He  opened  his  hand,  and  then  Jack 
saw  he  had  a  sixpenny-piece  in  it.  "I  want  you  to  take 
this  here,"  he  said,  "  for  to  pay  you  for  your  trouble." 

The  woman  stretched  out  her  lean,  bony  hand,  took 
the  coin  eagerly  enough,  and  slipped  it  in  her  pocket. 
"  I  '11  tell  her  young  ladyship  that  you  be  waiting,"  said 
she  with  a  sudden  access  of  deference,  and  then  went 
back  into  the  house. 

"  Did  you  see  anything  of  that  there  bottle  o'  rum  1 " 
said  Dred. 

"  Yes,  I  did,"  said  Jack.  "  I  put  it  away  in  the  over- 
coat pocket." 

"  That 's  all  well,  then.  I  thought  maybe  Bill  or  Ned 
Grosse  had  stole  it.     Was  there  anything  left  in  it  ? " 

"  A  little,"  answered  Jack. 

Beside  this  Dred  made  no  present  reference  to  the 
drinking  bout  of  the  night  before. 

When  they  went  back  into  the  house  again  the  young 
lady  was  sitting  on  the  edge  of  the  bed,  smootliing  her 
hair.  "  'T  is  time  we  was  starting  now,  mistress,"  said 
Dred,  "  and  the  sooner  the  better." 

They  all  went  down  to  the  boat  together,  the  two 
Gosse  men  accompanying  them.  This  time  they  helped 
Jack  and  Dred  unfurl  the  sail,  and  set  the  boom  and 
the  gaff,  and  they  pushed  the  boat  off  into  the  water 
when  all  were  aboard.  "  You  '11  have  a  windy  day  out- 
side, like  enough,"  Bill  Gosse  said,  in  his  slow,  dull 
voice. 

"  I  reckon  we  will,"  Dred  replied  briefly. 


THE  SECOND   DAY  289 

There  was  a  fine  spit  of  raiu-like  mist  drifting  before 
the  wind,  and  the  water  lapped  and  splashed  chilly, 
beating  in  little  breakers  upon  the  beach.  "  Yon  'd 
better  put  on  this  overcoat,  mistress,"  said  Dred,  and 
he  held  it  for  the  young  lady  as  he  spoke. 

She  looked  steadily  at  him  for  a  moment,  and  it 
seemed  to  Jack,  with  some  intuitive  knowledge,  that 
she  was  thinking  of  the  way  Dred  had  been  drinking 
with  the  two  men  the  night  before.  Jack  himself  took 
the  coat  from  Dred  and  held  it  for  her  while  she  slipped 
her  arms  into  the  sleeves.  Then  he  helped  her  settle  her- 
self in  the  stern.  "  You  'd  better  put  on  the  other  over- 
coat, Dred,"  he  said.   "  I  can  do  very  well  without  it." 

The  boat  was  already  dancing  and  bobbing  with  the 
short,  lumpy  swell  that  came  in  from  the  sound  around 
the  point,  and  gave  promise  of  rough  weather  outside. 
The  sail  flapped  and  beat  noisily  in  the  wind ;  Jack 
hoisted  the  peak,  and  Dred,  drawing  the  sheet  with  one 
hand  and  holding  the  tiller  with  the  other,  brought  her 
around  to  the  wind.  The  people  on  the  shore  stood 
watching  them  as  the  boat  heeled  over  and  then,  with 
gathering  headway,  swept  swiftly  away.  There  were 
no  farewells  spoken.  Jack,  looking  behind,  saw  the 
people  still  standing  upon  the  shore  as  it  rapidly  fell 
away  astern,  dimming  in  the  gray  of  the  misty  rain. 

"  About ! "  called  Dred,  sharply,  and  then  the  boat, 
sweeping  a  curve,  came  around  upon  the  other  tack. 
Once  more  they  came  about,  and  then  presently  they 
were  out  in  the  open  sound.  There  was  a  heavj^, 
lumpy  sea  running,  and  the  boat  began  to  lift  and 
plunge  to  the  gi*eater  swell  with  every  now  and  then 
a  loud,  thunderous  splash  of  water  at  the  bow,  and 
a  cloud  of  spray  dashed  up  into  the  air.  A  wave  sent 
a  sheet  of  water  into  the  boat.  "  I  reckon  we  '11  have 
to  drop  the  peak  a  bit.  Jack,"  Dred  said;  "she  drives 
too  hard." 

19 


290  JACK  BALLISTER'S  FOETUNES 

The  young  lady,  in  the  first  roughness  of  the  roUing 
sea,  was  holding  tight  to  the  rail.  Jack  stumbled  for- 
ward across  the  thwarts  and  lowered  the  peak.  The 
water  was  rushing  noisily  past  the  boat.  "  'T  is  a  head 
wind  we  've  got  for  to-day,"  said  Dred,  when  he  had 
come  back  into  the  stern  again.  "  I  'm  glad  we  've  had 
a  bit  of  rest  afore  we  started,  for  we  '11  hardly  make 
Roanoke  afore  nine  or  ten  o'clock  to-night  if  the  wind 
holds  as  't  is." 

And  it  was  after  nightfall  when  they  ran  in  back  of 
Roanoke  Island.  The  wind  had  ceased  blowing  from 
the  east,  and  was  rapidly  falling  away.  Just  at  sun- 
down, the  sun  had  shot  a  level  glory  of  light  under 
the  gray  clouds,  bathing  all  the  world  with  a  crimson 
glow,  and  then  had  set,  the  clouds  overhead  shutting 
in  an  early  night.  The  water  still  heaved,  troubled 
with  the  memory  of  the  wind  that  had  been  churning 
it  all  day.  The  young  lady  had  been  feeling  ill,  and  she 
now  lay  motionless  upon  the  bench,  where  Jack  had  cov- 
ered her  with  everything  obtainable,  and  where  she  lay 
with  her  head  upon  her  bundle  of  clothes,  her  face,  rest- 
ing upon  the  palm  of  her  hand,  just  showing  beneath 
the  wraps  that  covered  her.  In  the  afternoon  Dred  had 
handed  the  tiller  over  to  Jack,  who  still  held  it.  Now, 
wrapped  in  one  of  the  overcoats,  he  lay  upon  the  other 
bench,  perhaps  sleeping.  The  night  had  fallen  more 
and  more,  and  soon  it  was  really  dark.  Jack  held 
steadily  to  the  course  that  Dred  had  directed,  and  by 
and  by  he  was  more  and  more  certain  that  he  was  near 
the  land.  At  last,  he  really  did  see  the  dim  outline  of  the 
shore,  and  in  the  lulls  of  the  breeze  he  could  presently 
hear  the  loud  splashing  of  the  water  upon  the  beach. 

"Dred,"  he  called,  "you'd  better  come  and  take  the 
helm."  Dred  roused  himself  instantly,  shuddering  with 
the  chill  of  the  night  air  as  he  did  so.  He  looked  about 
him,  peering  into  the  darkness. 


THE   SECOND   DAY  291 

"  Ay,"  he  said,  after  a  while.  "  'T  is  Roanoke,  and 
that  must  be  Duck  Island  over  yonder,  t'  other  way. 
That 's  Broad  Creek,  yonder,"  pointing  oft:  through  the 
night.  "  We  might  run  into  it,  and  maybe  find  some 
shelter ;  but  what  I  wants  to  do,  is  to  make  Shallow- 
bag  Bav.  There  's  a  lookout  tree  on  the  sand-hills 
there,  and  I  wants  to  take  a  sight  behind  us,  to-mor- 
row. D'  ye  see,  't  is  Roanoke  Sound  we  're  running  into. 
If  the  sloop  follys  us  at  all,  't  will  run  up  the  ship- 
channel  Croatan  way." 

Jack  did  not  at  all  understand  what  Dred  meant,  but 
he  gave  up  the  tiller  to  him  very  readily.  He  went 
across  to  where  the  young  lady  lay.  "  How  d'  ye  feel 
now,  mistress  I "  he  said. 

"  I  feel  better  than  I  did,"  she  said,  faintly,  opening 
her  eyes  as  she  spoke. 

"Would  you  like  to  have  a  bite  to  eat  now!"  She 
shook  her  head,  and  once  more  Jack  took  his  place  in 
the  stern. 

"  There  's  another  reason  why  I  wants  to  make  Shal- 
lowbag  Bay,"  said  Dred.  "  D'  ye  see,  there  's  a  house 
there, — or,  leastwise,  there  used  to  be, — and  I  thought 
if  we  could  get  there  it  might  make  a  shelter  for  the 
young  lady,  for  she  's  had  a  rough  day  of  it  to-day,  for 
sartin." 

"  How  far  is  it  % "  Jack  asked. 

"Why,"  said  Dred,  "no  more  'n  a  matter  of  eight 
mile,  I  reckon.  Here;  you  hold  the  tiller,  lad,  while  I 
light  my  pipe." 

Maybe  an  hour  or  more  passed,  and  then  Dred  began, 
every  now  and  then,  to  take  a  lookout  ahead,  standing 
up  and  peering  away  into  the  darkness.  The  clouds 
had  now  entirely  blown  away,  and  the  great  vault  of 
sky  sparkled  all  over  with  stars.  All  around  them  the 
water  spread  out,  dim  and  restless.  They  were  running 
free  close  to  the  shore.     A  point  of  sand  jutted  out 


292  JACK  BALLISTEE'S   FORTUNES 

pallidly  into  the  water,  and  throngh  the  darkness  Jack 
could  dimly  see  the  recm-rent  gleam  of  breaking  waves 
upon  it.  Again  Dred  was  standing  up  in  the  boat,  look- 
ing out  ahead.  "  We  're  all  right,  now,"  he  said,  after 
a  long  time  of  observation,  finally  taking  his  seat. 
"I've  got  my  bearings  now,  and  know  where  I  be. 
The  only  thing  now  is,  that  we  sha'  n't  run  aground,  for 
here  and  there  there 's  not  enough  water  to  float  a  chip." 
As  he  ended  speaking  he  put  down  the  tiller,  and  the 
yawl  ran  in  close  around  the  edge  of  the  point.  He  sailed 
for  some  little  distance  before  he  spoke  again.  "  We  '11 
have  to  take  to  the  oars  for  the  rest  of  the  way,"  he  said, 
at  last ;  and  as  he  spoke  he  brought  the  bow  of  the 
boat  up  to  the  wind.  "  We  're  done  our  sailing  for  to- 
night. The  shanty  's  not  more  'n  a  mile  f urder  on  from 
here  across  the  bay.  We  'd  better  put  up  the  sail  here, 
I  reckon.  'T  will  be  swinging  all  around  in  your  way 
when  ye  row." 

He  arose  and  went  forward.  Jack  following  him,  and 
together  they  loosened  the  boom  and  began  reefing  the 
sail  still  wet  with  the  rain  and  spray  of  the  day's 
storm.  The  young  lady  did  not  move;  perhaps  she 
was  asleep.  Then  Dred  returned  to  the  tiller,  and 
Jack  took  to  the  oars. 

In  somewhat  less  than  half  an  hour  Jack  had  rowed 
the  heavy  boat  across  the  open  water.  As  he  looked 
over  his  shoulder,  he  could  see  a  strip  of  beach  just 
ahead,  drawing  nearer  and  nearer  to  them  through  the 
night.  A  minute  more,  and  the  bow  of  the  boat  ran 
grating  upon  a  sandy  shoal  and  there  stuck  fast.  Dred 
arose,  and  he  and  Jack  stepped  into  the  shallow  water. 
The  young  lady  stirred  and  roused  herself  as  they  did 
so.  "  Sit  still,  mistress,"  said  Dred,  "  and  we  'U  drag 
the  boat  up  to  the  beach.  It  seems  like  there  's  a  bank 
made  out  here  since  I  was  here  afore."  They  drew  the 
boat  across  the  shoal  and  up  the  little  strip  of  beach. 


THE   SECOND   DAY  293 

Beyond,  a  level,  sedgy  stretch  reached  away  into  the 
night.  "  You  wait  here,"  said  Dred,  "  and  I  '11  go  up  and 
see  if  the  shanty  be  there  yet.  I  know  't  was  there 
three  year  ago." 

He  went  away,  leaving  Jack  and  the  young  lady  sit- 
ting in  the  boat. 

"  Do  you  think  he  '11  take  us  to  such  a  place  as  he 
did  last  night  f "  she  presently  asked  of  Jack. 

"  No,  I  know  he  won't,"  Jack  said.  "  'T  is  an  empty 
hut  he  's  going  to  take  us  to  this  time." 

"  I  'd  rather  sleep  out  in  the  boat,"  she  said,  "  than 
go  to  such  a  house  again.  'T  was  dreadful  last  night 
when  those  three  men  sat  drinking  as  they  did." 

"  Well,"  said  Jack,  "  this  is  no  such  a  place  as  that. 
'T  is  an  empty  hut;  and  he  only  comes  here  to  find 
shelter  for  you  for  the  night,  and  to  take  an  obser- 
vation to-morrow." 

She  had  not  said  anything  before  as  to  what  she 
had  felt  during  the  previous  night,  and  Jack  had 
thought  until  now  that  perhaps  it  had  made  little  or 
no  impression  upon  her.  "  You  need  n't  be  afraid  of 
Dred,  mistress,"  he  said,  presently.  "  He  's  rough,  but 
he 's  not  a  bad  man,  and  you  need  n't  be  afraid  of  him." 

She  did  not  rej^ly;  and  Jack  could  read  in  her  si- 
lence how  entirely  she  had  lost  confidence  in  Dred. 
Presently  he  appeared,  coming  through  the  darkness. 
"'T  is  all  right,"  he  said;  "I  have  found  the  cabin. 
We  '11  just  iDull  the  yawl  a  trifle  furder  up  on  the 
beach,  and  then  I  '11  take  ye  up  to  it.  Now,  mistress, 
if  you  '11  step  ashore." 

Jack  and  Dred  helped  the  young  lady  out  of  the 
boat.  She  stood  upon  the  damp  beach  wrapped  in 
the  overcoat  she  had  worn  all  day  as  Jack  drove  the 
anchor  down  into  the  sandy  soil  and  made  fast  the 
bow-line.  Dred  ojDened  the  locker  and  brought  out 
the  biscuit  and  the  ham. 


294  JACK   BALLISTEK'S   FOKTUNES 

He  led  the  way  for  some  distance  through  the  dark- 
ness, his  feet  rustling  harshly  through  the  wiry,  sedgy 
grass,  and  by  and  by  Jack  made  out  the  dim  outline 
of  the  wooden  hut  looming  blackly  against  the  starry 
sky.  It  was  quite  deserted,  and  the  doorway  gaped 
darkly.  It  stood  as  though  toppling  to  fall;  but  the 
roof  was  sound,  and  the  floor  within  was  tolerably  dry. 
At  any  rate,  it  was  a  protection  from  the  night.  As 
Dred  struck  the  flint  and  steel.  Jack  stripped  some 
planks  from  the  wall,  breaking  them  into  shorter  pieces 
with  his  heel,  and  presently  a  fire  blazed  and  crackled 
upon  the  ground  before  the  open  doorway  of  the  hut, 
lighting  up  the  sedgj^,  sandy  space  of  the  night  for 
some  distance  around. 

After  they  had  eaten  their  rude  meal,  they  made  the 
young  lady  as  comfortable  as  possible ;  then  they  sat 
down  side  by  side  to  dry  their  damp  clothes  by  the 
fii-e.  It  burned  down  to  a  heap  of  hot,  glowing  coals, 
and  Jack  threw  on  another  armful  of  sticks;  they 
blazed  up  with  renewed  brightness,  lighting  up  the 
interior  of  the  hut  with  a  red  glow. 

"Like  enough  this  is  the  last  stop  we  can  make," 
said  Dred,  "  betwixt  here  and  the  inlet." 

"How  far  is  the  inlet  from  here,  d'  ye  suppose?" 
Jack  asked. 

"Perhaps  a  matter  of  twenty  league  or  so,"  said 
Dred.  "We  can't  expect  the  wind  to  favor  us  as  it 
has  done.  We  've  got  along  mightily  weU  so  far,  I 
can  tell  ye.  We  've  got  a  lead  far  away  ahead  of  any 
chase  the  captain  can  make  arter  us.  I  do  believe 
we  be  safe  enough  now ;  all  the  same  I  'm  going  over 
to  the  sand-hills  to-morrow  to  take  a  look  astern.  Over 
in  that  direction — "  and  he  pointed  with  his  pipe  — 
"  there  's  a  lookout  tree  we  used  to  use  three  or  four 
year  ago  when  we  was  cruising  around  here  in  the 
sounds." 


THE   SECOND  DAY 


295 


"  Do  you  know,  Dred,"  said  Jack,  "  I  believe  you  're 
vastly  the  better  in  health  for  coming  off  with  us? 
You  don't  seem  near  as  sick  as  you  did  before  we 
left  Bath  Town." 

"Ay,"  said  Dred;  "that 's  alius  the  way  with  a  sick 
body.     I  hain't  time  now  to  think  how  sick  I  be." 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII 


THE   THIED   DAY 


JACK  was  awakened  the  next  morning  by  Dred 
stirring  about.  The  sun  had  not  yet  arisen,  but 
the  sky,  mottled  over  with  drifting  clouds,  was  blue 
and  mild.  "  Well,"  said  Dred,  "  I  'm  going  over  to  the 
sand-hills  now.  You  and  the  young  lady  can  get  some 
breakfast  ready  ag'in'  I  get  back," 

"  Don't  you  mean  to  take  me  along  with  you,  then  I " 
Jack  asked. 

"  No,"  said  Dred,  "  't  would  be  no  use.  You  can  do 
more  by  staying  here  and  getting  ready  a  bite  to  eat, 
for  I  want  to  make  as  early  a  start  as  may  be." 

Jack  watched  him  as  he  walked  across  the  little  sandy 
hummocks  covered  with  the  wiry  sedge  grass  that  bent 
and  quivered  in  the  gentle  wind.  "  How  long  will  you 
be  gone,  Dred  ? "  he  called  after  the  departing  figure. 

The  other  stopped  and  turned  around.  "  About  a 
half  hour,"  he  called  back,  and  then  he  turned  and  went 
on  again. 

Jack  got  together  some  wood  for  the  fire,  and  pres- 
ently had  a  good  blaze  crackling  and  snapping.  The 
young  lady  was  stirring,  and  in  a  little  while  she 
came  to  the  door  of  the  hut  and  stood  looking  at  him. 
"Where  's  Mr.  Dred?"  she  asked, 

"He's  gone  across  to  an  observation  tree  over  yonder," 
Jack  said,  pointing  in  the  direction  with  a  bit  of  wood. 
"  He  savs  he'  11  be  back  within  half  an  hour,  and  he 


296 


THE   THIRD   DAY  297 

wants  that  we  should  get  breakfast  ready  against  that 
time." 

The  young  lady  stood  looking  about  her.  '"T  will 
not  storm  again  to-day,  will  it  ? "  said  she. 

"No,"  said  Jack,  "the  weather  's  broken  now  for 
good."  He  felt  a  curiously  breathless  constraint  in 
being  thus  alone  with  her  with  no  one  else  near  them, 
but  she  was  clearly  altogether  unconscious  of  any  such 
feeling,  and  her  unconsciousness  abashed  him  all  the 
more.  He  busied  himself  studiously  about  his  work 
without  speaking,  the  young  lady  standing  watching 
him,  and  the  breakfast  was  cooked  and  spread  out 
upon  a  board  some  time  before  Dred  returned.  His 
impassive  face  looked  more  than  usually  expressionless. 
"  Did  you  see  anything  ? "  Jack  asked. 

He  did  not  reply  to  the  question.  "  We  '11  not  eat 
here,"  he  said ;  "  we  '11  just  take  it  aboard  the  boat  and 
eat  it  there  as  we  sails  along."  And  then  it  flashed  upon 
Jack  that  he  must  have  seen  something.  "  Ye  might 
ha'  roasted  two  or  three  o'  them  taties  we  fetched  with 
us,"  Dred  continued.  "We  hain't  touched  them  yet, 
and  this  is  like  enough  to  be  the  last  chance  we  '11  get 
to  do  so  now,  for  we  be  n't  like  to  go  ashore  —  leastwise 
this  side  of  the  inlet  —  and  arter  that  we  've  got  to 
make  straight  to  Virginny."  Then  he  caught  Jack's 
eye  with  a  meaning  glance,  and  presently  led  the  way 
around  to  the  other  side  of  the  hut.  There  he  leaned 
with  his  back  against  the  side  of  the  house,  his  hands 
thrust  deeply  into  his  breeches  pockets.  "Well,"  he 
said,  in  a  low  voice,  "I  been  and  took  a  look-out  astern." 

"  Well,"  Jack  said  breathlessly,  "  what  of  it  ? " 

"Why,"  said  Dred,  "I  see  a  sail  off  to  the  south'rd 
a-making  up  Croatan  way." 

Jack  felt  a  sudden,  quick,  shrinking  pang  about  his 
heart.  "Well,"  he  said,  "what  of  it  I  Was  it  the 
sloop  f  " 


298  JACK  BALLISTER'S   FORTUNES 

Dred  shook  his  head.  "  I  don't  know  that,"  he  said, 
"and  I  can't  just  say  as  't  was  the  sloop  —  but  I  can't 
say  as  't  were  n't  the  sloop,  neither.  It  may  have  been 
a  coaster  or  summat  of  the  sort ;  there 's  no  saying,  for 
't  was  too  far  away  for  me  to  tell  just  what  it  was.  But 
I  '11  tell  you  what 't  is,  lad,  we  've  just  got  to  get  away 
as  fast  as  may  be,  for  the  craft  I  see  be  n't  more  than 
fourteen  or  fifteen  knot  astarn  of  us,  and,  give  her  a 
stiff  breeze,  she  may  overhaul  that  betwixt  here  and  the 
inlet  if  we  tarries  too  long." 

Jack  was  looking  very  fixedly  at  Dred.  "Well, 
Dred,"  he  said,  "suppose  't  is  the  sloop,  and  it  does 
overhaul  us,  what  then  ? " 

Dred  shrugged  his  shoulders,  and  there  was  some- 
thing in  the  shrug  that  spoke  more  voluminously  than 
words  could  have  done.  "  'T  is  no  use  axing  me  what 
then,"  he  said,  presently.  "We  just  sha'n't  let  her  over- 
haul us,  and  that  's  all.  We  '11  not  think  on  anything 
else." 

The  sense  of  overshadowing  danger  in  the  possibility 
of  the  boat  that  Dred  had  seen  being  the  sloop,  and 
the  further  possibility  of  its  overhauling  them,  loomed 
larger  and  larger  in  Jack's  mind  the  more  his  thoughts 
dwelt  upon  it,  swelling  up  almost  like  a  bubble  in  his 
bosom.  For  a  time  it  seemed  as  though  he  could  not 
bear  the  bigness  of  the  apprehension  growing  so  within 
him.  He  wondered  that  Dred  could  appear  so  in- 
different to  it.  "Why,  Dred,"  he  cried,  "how  can  a 
body  help  thinking  about  such  a  thing?" 

Dred  looked  at  him  out  of  his  narrow,  black,  bead- 
like eyes,  and  then  shrugged  his  shoulders  again.  His 
face  was  as  impassive  as  that  of  a  sphinx. 

Jack  stood  thinking  and  thinking.  The  growing 
apprehension  brought  to  him  for  a  moment  a  feeling 
almost  of  physical  nausea.  He  believed  that  Dred 
believed  that  the  sloop  was  really  Blackbeard's,  and 


THE   THIKD   DAY  299 

that  it  was  overhauling  them.  He  heaved  an  op- 
pressed and  labored  sigh.  "  I  wish,"  he  said,  "we  'd  only 
sailed  straight  ahead  instead  of  stopping  over  night  — 
first,  down  yonder  at  Gosse's  in  the  swamp,  and  now 
here." 

Again  Dred  shrugged  his  shoulders.  "  Well,"  he  said, 
"  you  be  hale  and  strong  enough  to  stand  sailing  four 
or  six  days  on  end  in  an  open  boat.  But  you  don't 
seem  to  think  as  how  the  young  lady  can't  stand  it  — 
saying  naught  of  myself.  If  I  had  n't  took  care  of  my- 
self, and  had  'a'  been  took  sick  on  your  hands,  you  'd 
be  a  deal  worse  off  than  you  are  now.'  And,  arter  all," 
he  added,  "  't  is  a  blind  chance  of  that  there  craft  being 
the  sloop.  She  may  be  a  coaster.  Well,  't  is  no  use 
stopping  here  to  talk  about  that  there  now.  The  best 
thing  for  us  to  do  is  to  make  sail  as  quick  as  may  be.  I 
don't  see  how  they  got  track  on  us  anyhow,"  he  said, 
almost  to  himself,  "unless  they  chanced  to  get  some 
news  on  us  at  Gosse's,  or  unless  they  ran  across  Gosse 
hisself."  He  slapped  his  thigh  suddenly.  "'T  is  like 
enough,  now  I  come  to  think  on  it,  Gosse  went  off 
som'ers  to  buy  rum  with  the  sixpence  I  gave  his  mis- 
tress, and  so  ran  across  the  captain  in  the  sloop,  som'ers^ 
maybe  down  toward  Ocracock  way." 

To  all  this  Jack  listened  with  the  heavy  oppression 
of  apprehension  lying  like  a  leaden  weight  upon  his 
soul.  "  Then  you  do  think  the  sail  you  saw  was 
the  sloop  ? "  said  he  with  anxious  insistence,  and  once 
more  and  for  the  third  time  Dred  shrugged  his  shoul- 
ders, vouchsafing  no  other  reply. 

Never  for  any  moment  through  all  that  long  day  did 
Jack's  spirit  escape  from  that  ever-present,  dreadful 
anxiety.  Always  it  was  with  him  in  everything  that  he 
saw  or  did  or  said,  sometimes  lying  dull  and  inert  be- 
hind the  vivid  things  of  life,  sometimes  starting  out 
with  a  sudden  vitality  that  brought  again  that  sicken- 


300  JACK   BALLISTEE'S   FOETUNES 

ing  nausea,  as  a  sort  of  outer  physical  effect  of  the  inner 
distress  of  spirit. 

The  breeze  had  grown  lighter  and  lighter  as  the  day 
advanced,  but  by  noon  they  had  run  in  back  of  a  small 
island,  and  by  three  or  four  o'clock  were  well  up  into 
the  shoal  water  of  Currituck  Sound.  During  the  time 
they  were  crossing  the  lower  part  of  Albemarle  Sound 
Dred  would  every  now  and  then  stand  up  to  look  back; 
then  again  he  would  take  his  place,  gazing  out  ahead. 
Each  time  he  had  thus  stood  up,  Jack  had  looked  at 
him,  but  could  learn  nothing  of  his  thoughts  from  his 
expressionless  face. 

Suddenly  Dred  glanced  up  overhead,  the  bright  sun- 
light glinting  in  his  narrow  black  eyes.  "  The  wind  be 
falling  mightily  light,"  he  said,  and  then  again  he  stood 
up  and  looked  out  astern,  stretching  himself  as  he  did 
so.  This  time  when  he  sat  down  he  exchanged  one 
swift  glance  with  Jack,  and  Jack  knew  that  he  had 
seen  something.  After  that  he  did  not  rise  again,  but 
he  held  the  tiller  motionlessly,  looking  steadily  out 
across  the  water  that  grew  ever  smoother  and  smoother 
as  the  breeze  fell  more  and  more  away.  By  and  by  he 
said  suddenly :  "  Ye  might  as  well  get  out  the  oars  and 
row  a  bit,  lad ;  't  will  help  us  along  a  trifle." 

The  cloud  of  anxiety  was  hanging  very  darkly  over 
him  as  Jack  went  forward  and  shipped  the  oars  into  the 
rowlocks.  The  sun  had  been  warm  and  strong  all  day, 
and,  without  speaking,  he  laid  aside  his  coat  before  he 
began  rowing.  They  were  skirting  along  now  well  to- 
ward the  eastern  shore  of  Currituck  Sound.  There  was 
a  narrow  strip  of  beach,  a  strip  of  flat,  green  marsh, 
and  then  beyond  that  a  white  ridge  of  sand.  Flocks 
of  gulls  sat  out  along  the  shoals,  which,  in  places,  were 
just  covered  with  a  thin  sheet  of  water.  Every  now 
and  then  they  would  rise  as  the  boat  crept  nearer  and 
nearer  to  them,  and  would  circle  and  hover  in  clamorous 


THE   THIRD   DAY  301 

flight.  Presently,  as  Jack  sat  rowing  and  looking  out 
astern,  he  himself  saw  the  sail.  The  first  sight  of  it 
struck  him  as  with  a  sudden  shock,  and  he  ceased  row- 
ing and  resting  on  his  oars  looking  steadily  at  it.  He 
felt  certain  that  Dred  believed  it  to  be  the  pirate  sloop ; 
he  himself  felt  sure  that  it  must  be,  for  why  else  would 
it  be  following  them  up  into  the  shoals  of  Currituck 
Sound!  Then  he  began  rowing  again.  Suddenly,  in 
the  bright,  wide  silence,  the  young  lady  spoke.  "  Why, 
that  is  another  boat  I  see  vonder,  is  it  not  ? " 

"Yes,  mistress,"  said  Dred,  briefly.  He  had  not 
turned  his  head  or  looked  at  her  as  he  spoke,  and  Jack 
bowed  over  the  oars  as  he  pulled  away  at  them. 

After  that  there  was  nothing  more  said  for  a  long 
time.  The  young  lady  sat  with  her  elbow  resting  upon 
the  rail,  now  looking  out  at  the  boat  astern,  and  now 
down  into  the  water.  She  was  perfectly  unconscious  of 
any  danger.  A  long  flock  of  black  ducks  threaded  its 
flight  across  the  sunny  level  of  the  distant  marsh,  and 
there  was  no  cessation  to  the  iterated  and  ceaseless 
clamor  of  the  gulls.  Now  and  then  a  quavering  whistle 
from  some  unseen  flock  of  marsh-birds  sounded  out 
from  the  measureless  blue  above.  Jack  never  ceased 
in  his  rowing ;  he  saw  and  heard  all  these  things  as  with 
the  outer  part  of  his  consciousness ;  with  the  inner  part 
he  was  thinking,  brooding  ceaselessly  upon  the  possi- 
bility of  captui'e.  He  looked  at  Dred's  impassive  face, 
and  now  and  then  their  eyes  met.  Jack  wondered  what 
he  was  thinking  of;  whether  he  thought  they  would  get 
away,  or  whether  he  thought  they  would  not,  for  the 
other  gave  no  sign  either  of  anxiety  or  of  hope. 

The  sail  was  hanging  almost  flat  now.  Only  every  now 
and  then  it  swelled  out  sluggishly,  and  the  boat  drew 
forward  a  little  with  a  noisier  ripple  of  water  under  the 
bows.  Jack  pulled  steadily  away  at  the  oars  without 
ceasing.     It  seemed  to  him  that  the  sail  of  the  boat  in 


il, 


302  JACK   BALLISTEK'S   FORTUNES 

the  distance  stood  higher  from  the  water  than  it  had. 
At  last  he  could  not  forbear  to  speak.  "  She  's  coming 
nigher,  ain't  she,  Dred  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  I  reckon  not,"  said  Dred,  without  turning  his  head. 

I  reckon  't  is  just  looming  to  the  south'rd,  and  that 
makes  her  appear  to  stand  higher.  Maybe  she  may 
have  a  trifle  more  wind  than  we,  but  not  much." 

The  young  lady  roused  herself,  turned,  and  looked  out 
astern.  "  What  boat  is  that  1 "  she  said.  "  It  has  been 
following  us  all  afternoon." 

Dred  leaned  over  and  spat  into  the  water;  then  he 
turned  toward  her  with  a  swift  look.  "  Why,  mistress," 
he  said,  "  I  don't  see  no  use  in  keeping  it  from  ye ;  't  is 
like  that  be  Blackbeard's  boat  —  the  sloop." 

The  young  lady  looked  steadily  at  him  and  then  at 
Jack.  "  Are  they  going  to  catch  us,"  she  asked,  "  and 
take  us  back  to  Bath  Town  again  ?  " 

"Why,  no,"  said  Dred,  "I  reckon  not;  we  've  got 
too  much  of  a  start  on  'em.  It  be  n't  more  than  thirty 
knot  to  the  inlet,  and  they  've  got  maybe  six  knot  to 
overhaul  us  yet."  He  turned  his  head  and  looked  out 
astern.  "  D'  ye  see,"  said  he,  "  ye  can't  tell  as  to  how 
far  they  be  away.  It  be  looming  up  yonder  to  the 
south'rd.  'T  is  like  they  be  as  much  as  seven  knot 
away  rather  than  six  knot."  Again  he  stood  up  and 
looked  out  astern.  "  They  've  got  a  puff  of  air  down 
there  yet,"  he  said,  "and  they  have  got  out  the  sweeps." 

Jack  wondered  how  he  could  see  so  far  to  know  what 
they  were  doing. 

The  breeze  had  died  away  now  to  cat's-paws  that  just 
ruffled  the  smooth,  bright  surface  of  the  water.  Dred, 
as  he  stood  up,  stretched  first  one  arm  and  then  the 
other.  He  stood  for  a  while,  resting  his  hand  upon  the 
boom,  looking  out  at  the  other  vessel.  Then  he  began 
to  whistle  shrilly  a  monotonous  tune  through  his  teeth. 
Jack  knew  he  was  whistling  for  a  wind.    Presently  he 


THE   THIRD   DAY  303 

took  out  his  clasp-knife  and  opened  it  as  he  stepped 
across  the  thwarts.  Jack  moved  aside  to  make  way  for 
him.  He  stuck  the  knife  into  the  mast  and  then  went 
aft  again.  The  young  lady  watched  him  curiously. 
"  What  did  you  do  that  for  ? "  she  asked. 

"  To  fetch  up  a  breeze,  mistress,"  said  Dred,  shortly. 

All  this  time  Jack  was  pulling  steadily  at  the  oars 
without  ceasing.  The  sun  sloped  lower  and  lower  to- 
ward the  west.  "  They  ain't  gaining  on  us  now,"  said 
Dred  ;  but  Jack  could  see  that  the  sail  had  gi'own  larger 
and  higher  over  the  edge  of  the  horizon. 

The  yellow  light  of  the  afternoon  changed  to  orange 
and  then  to  red  as  the  sun  set  in  a  perfectly  cloudless 
sky.  Suddenly,  Jack  felt  his  strength  crumbling  away 
from  him  like  slacked  lime.  "  I  can't  row  any  more, 
Dred,"  he  said.  "  I  'm  dead  tired,  and  my  hands  are  all 
flayed  with  rowing."  He  had  not  noticed  his  weariness 
before;  it  seemed  as  though  it  came  suddenly  upon  him, 
its  leaden  weight  seeming  to  crush  out  that  dreadful 
a,nxiety  to  a  mere  dull  discomfort  of  spirit. 

The  palms  of  his  handg  were  burning  like  fire.  He 
looked  at  the  red,  blistered  surface ;  they  had  not  hurt 
him  so  much  until  he  stretched  them,  trying  to  open 
them.  His  hands  and  arms  were  trembling  with 
weariness. 

"  You  'd  better  take  a  drink  of  rum,"  said  Dred ; 
"'t  will  freshen  you  up  a  bit.  You  'd  better  take  a 
bite,  too." 

"  I  don't  feel  hungry,"  he  said  hoarsely. 

"  Like  enough  not,"  said  Dred.  "  But  't  will  do  you 
good  to  eat  a  bite,  all  the  same.  The  biscuits  are  aft 
here.  By  blood !  we  did  n't  leave  much  in  the  bottle 
down  at  Gosse's,  did  we  f "  and  he  shook  the  bottle  at 
his  ear,  "  Here,  mistress,  eat  that,"  and  he  handed  a 
biscuit  to  the  young  lady. 

The  sail  in  the  distance  burned  like  fire  in  the  setting 


304  JACK  BALLISTEK'S   FORTUNES 

sun.  The  three  looked  at  it.  "D'  ye  say  your  prayers, 
mistress  ?  "  said  Dred. 

She  looked  at  him  as  though  startled  at  the  question. 
"  Why,  yes,  I  do,"  she  said.     "  What  do  you  mean  ?  " 

"  Why,  if  you  do  say  your  prayers,"  said  Dred,  "  when 
you  say  'em  to-night  just  ax  for  a  wind,  won't  ye  ?  We 
wants  to  make  the  inlet  to-night,  as  much  as  we  wants 
salwation." 

The  sun  set ;  the  gray  of  twilight  melted  into  night ; 
the  ceaseless  clamor  of  the  gulls  had  long  since  sub- 
sided, aud  the  cool,  starry  sky  looked  down  silently  and 
breathlessly  upon  them  as  they  lay  drifting  upon  the 
surface  of  the  water.  "  I  '11  take  a  try  at  the  oars  my- 
self," said  Dred,  "  but  I  can't  do  much.  You  go  to  sleep, 
lad,  I  '11  wake  you  arter  a  while." 

Jack  lay  down  upon  the  bench  opposite  the  young 
lady.  He  shut  his  eyes,  and  almost  instantly  he  seemed 
to  see  the  bright  level  of  the  water  and  the  green  level 
of  the  marsh,  as  he  had  seen  them  all  that  afternoon ;  he 
seemed  to  hear  the  clamor  of  the  gulls  ringing  in  his 
ears,  and  his  tired  and  tingling  body  felt  almost  actu- 
ally the  motion  of  rowing.  At  last  his  thoughts  became 
tangled ;  they  blurred  and  ran  together,  aud  before  he 
knew  it  he  was  fast  asleep — the  dead  sleep  of  weariness 
— and  all  care  and  fear  of  danger  were  forgotten. 


CHAPTER  XXXIX 


THE   FOUKTH   DAY 


JACK  felt  some  one  shaking  Mm.  He  tried  not  to 
awaken;  he  tried  to  hold  fast  to  his  sleep,  bnt  he 
felt  that  he  was  growing  wider  and  wider  awake. 
Dred  was  shaking  him.  Then  he  sat  up,  at  first  dull 
and  stupefied  with  sleep.  He  did  not,  in  the  moment 
of  new  awakening,  know  where  he  was — his  mind  did 
not  fit  immediately  into  the  circumstances  around  him 
— the  narrow,  hard  space  of  the  boat,  the  starry  vault 
of  sky,  and  the  dark  water  —  then  instantly  and  sud- 
denly he  remembered  everything  with  vivid  distinct- 
ness. He  looked  around  in  the  blank  darkness  almost 
as  though  he  expected  to  see  the  pursuing  boat. 

"  Come,"  said  Dred.  "  I  've  let  you  have  a  good  long 
sleep,  but  I  can't  let  you  have  no  more.  We  've  got  to 
take  to  the  oars  again,  and  that 's  all  there  is  about  it. 
I  tried  to  row,  but  I  could  n't  do  it.  And  so  ever  since 
you  've  been  sleeping  the  boat  's  been  drifting.  I  '11 
lend  a  hand  with  one  of  the  oars  for  a  while.  'T  will 
not  be  so  hard  on  you  as  if  you  had  to  pull  both.  But 
I  could  n't  row  by  myself,  and  that 's  all  there  is  of  it." 

"  How  long  have  I  been  asleep  ?  "  asked  Jack. 

"A  matter  of  four  or  five  hours,"  said  Dred. 

"  Four  or  five  hours  ! "  exclaimed  Jack.  It  seemed  to 
him  that  he  had  not  been  asleep  an  hour.  He  stood 
up,  and  stretched  his  cramped  limbs.  There  was  not  a 
breath  of  air  stirring.     The  young  lady  lay  dark  and 


20  305 


306  JACK  BALLISTER'S   FORTUNES 

silent  in  the  stern,  covered  over  with  the  overcoats  and 
wi'aps,  and  evidently  asleep.  She  stu-red  just  a  little 
at  the  sound  of  their  talking,  but  did  not  arouse  herself. 

"  Have  you  seen  or  heard  aught  of  the  sloop  1 "  said 
Jack. 

"  No,"  said  Dred.  "  Go  and  take  your  place,  and 
we  '11  ]3ull  a  bit.  I  '11  take  this  seat  here;  you  take 
the  one  aniidshi23s." 

Jack  climbed  over  the  thwarts  to  his  place.  He  was 
still  di'unk  and  half  inert  with  the  fumes  of  sleep.  He 
took  up  his  oar,  and  settled  it  quietly  into  the  rowlock 
so  as  not  to  disturb  the  young  lady.  "  Do  you  know 
what  time  't  is,  Dred  I "  he  asked. 

"I  make  it  about  two  o'clock,"  said  Dred,  "judging 
by  the  looks  of  the  stars."  He  was  leaning  over  his 
oar,  opening  the  bag  of  biscuit.  He  handed  one  back 
to  Jack.  "  We  '11  take  a  bite  to  eat  and  a  drop  to  drink 
afore  we  begin  rowing,"  said  he.  "  Where  's  the  bot- 
tle? Oh,  yes;  here  't  is,"  and  again  the  young  lady 
stirred  at  the  sound  of  his  voice  near  her. 

Jack's  hands  were  still  sore  and  blistered  from  the 
rowing  of  the  day  before.  At  first  the  oar  hurt  him 
cruelly,  but  his  hands  presently  got  used  to  the  drag- 
ging jerk,  and  he  dipped  and  pulled  in  time  with  the 
moving  of  Dred's  body,  which  he  could  dimly  see 
in  the  darkness.  They  rowed  on  in  perfect  silence. 
Now  and  then  Jack's  consciousness  blurred,  and  he 
felt  himself  falling  asleep,  but  he  never  ceased  his  row- 
ing. Then  again  he  would  awaken,  looking  out,  as  he 
dipped  his  oar,  at  the  whirling  eddy  it  made  in  the 
water.  Every  stroke  of  the  oar  drew  the  hea^^^  boat 
perhaps  a  yard  and  a  half  onward.  "A  thousand 
strokes,"  said  Jack  to  himself,  "will  make  a  mile." 
And  then  he  began  counting  each  stroke  as  he  rowed. 
Again  his  mind  blurred,  and  he  forgot  what  he  was 
counting.     "'T  was  three  hundred  and  twenty  I  left 


THE   FOURTH   DAY  307 

off  with,"  he  thought,  as  he  wakened  again.  "  Maybe 
there  's  been  twenty  since  then.  That  wonld  make 
three  hundred  and  forty.  Three  hundred  and  forty- 
one —  three  hundred  and  forty-two  —  three  hundi-ed 
and  forty- three  —  there  was  a  splash  —  that  was  a  fish 
jumped  then  —  three  hundi'ed  and  forty-four  —  three 
hundred  and  forty-five." 

Dred  stopped  rowing.  "I  've  got  to  rest  a  bit,"  he 
said,  ahnost  with  a  groan.  "  Drat  that  there  fever ! 
I  don't  know  what  a  body  's  got  to  have  fever  for, 
anyway." 

Jack  rested  upon  his  oar.  It  seemed  to  him  that 
almost  immediately  he  began  drifting  off  into  uncon- 
sciousness, to  awaken  again  with  a  start.  Dred  was 
still  resting  upon  his  oar,  and  the  boat  was  drifting. 
They  were  enveloped  and  wi-apped  around  by  a  perfect 
silence,  through  which  there  seemed  to  breathe  a 
liquid  murmui". 

Still  there  was  no  breeze,  but  there  began  to  be  an 
indescribable  air  of  freshness  breathed  out  upon  the 
night.  The  distant  quavering  whistle  of  a  flock  of 
marsh-birds  sounded  suddenly  out  of  the  hollow  dark- 
ness above.  It  was  the  first  spark  of  the  newly  awak- 
ened life.  Again  the  tremulous  whistle  sounded  as  if 
passing  dii-ectly  above  their  heads.  The  young  lady  still 
lay  darkly  motionless  in  the  stern.  All  the  earth  seemed 
sleeping  excepting  themselves  and  that  immaterial 
whistle  sounding  out  from  that  abysmal  vault — the 
womb  of  day.  Jack  fancied  that  there  was  a  slight  shot 
of  gray  in  the  east.  Again  the  whistle  sounded,  now 
faint  in  the  distance.  Then  there  was  another  answer- 
ing whistle;  then  another  —  then  another.  Presently 
it  seemed  as  though  the  air  were  alive  with  the  sound. 
Suddenly,  far  away,  sounded  the  sharp  clamor  of  a 
sea-gull;  a  pause;  then  instantly  a  confused  clamor 


308         ^  JACK   BALLISTEE'S   FOETUNES 

of  many  gulls.  There  slowly  grew  to  be  a  faint,  pallid 
light  along  the  east  as  broad  as  a  man's  hand,  but  still 
all  around  them  the  water  stretched  dark  and  mysterious. 

Dred  was  again  resting  upon  his  oar,  breathing 
heavily.  "  'T  will  be  broad  daylight  within  an  hour," 
he  said,  "  and  then  we  can  see  where  we  be." 

His  sudden  speech  struck  with  a  startling  jar  upon 
the  solitude  of  the  waking  day,  and  Jack  was  instantly 
wide  awake.  "How  far  are  we  from  the  inlet  now, 
do  you  suppose,  Dred?" 

A  pause.  "  I  don't  just  know.  'T  is  maybe  not  more 
than  fifteen  mile." 

"  Fifteen  miles ! "  repeated  Jack.  "  Have  we  got  to 
row  fifteen  miles  yet  ? " 

"  We  '11  have  to  if  we  don't  get  a  breeze,"  said  Dred, 
still  panting ;  "  and  as  we  did  n't  get  a  breeze  to  reach 
us  to  the  inlet  last  night,  we  don't  want  it  now.  'T  will 
only  serve  to  fetch  them  down  upon  us  now  if  a  breeze 
do  spring  up." 

Again,  for  the  third  time,  the  sleeping  figure  in  the 
stern  stirred  a  little  at  the  sound  of  voices.  The  grow- 
ing light  in  the  east  waxed  broader  and  broader.  In 
that  direction  the  distance  separated  itself  from  the 
sky.  Jack  could  see  that  they  were  maybe  a  mile  from 
the  marshy  shore,  over  which  had  now  awakened  the 
ceaseless  clamor  of  the  gulls  and  the  teeming  life  of 
the  sedgy  solitude.  To  the  west  it  was  still  dark  and 
indistinct,  but  they  could  see  a  further  and  further 
stretch  of  water.  "  I  see  her,"  said  Dred.  "  Well,  she 
don't  appear  to  have  overhauled  us  much  during  the 
night,  anyways." 

Jack  could  see  nothing  for  a  while,  but  presently  he 
did  distinguish  the  pallid  flicker  of  a  spot  of  sail  in  the 
far-away  distance.  Had  it  gained  upon  them  ?  It 
seemed  to  Jack  that,  in  spite  of  what  Dred  had  said,  it 
was  nearer  to  them. 


THE   FOURTH   DAY  309 

The  day  grew  wider  and  wider.  The  sun  had  not 
yet  risen,  but  everything  stood  out  now  in  the  broad, 
clear,  universal  flood  of  light  that  lit  up  the  heavens 
and  the  earth.  The  east  grew  rosy,  and  the  distance  to 
the  west  came  out  sharply  against  the  dull,  gray  sky, 
in  which  shone  steadily  a  single  brilliant  star.  The  boat 
was  wet  with  the  dew  that  had  gathered  upon  it. 

The  young  lady  roused  herself,  and  sat  up,  shudder- 
ing, in  the  chill  of  the  new  awakening.  She  looked 
about  her.  Then  Dred  stood  up,  and  looked  long  and 
steadily  at  the  strip  of  beach  to  the  east.  "  I  don't  know 
much  about  the  lay  of  the  coast  up  this  way,"  he  said ; 
"  there  ought  to  be  a  signal-mast  over  toward  the  ocean 
side  som'ers  about  here.  But,  so  far  as  I  can  make 
out,  we  be  ten  mile  from  the  inlet.  I  thought  we  'd 
been  nigher  to  it  than  we  are." 

The  water  was  as  smooth  as  glass. 

Suddenly  the  sun  rose,  big,  flattened,  distorted,  from 
over  the  sand-hills,  shooting  its  broad,  level  light  across 
the  water,  and  presently  the  sail  in  the  distance  started 
out  like  a  red  flame  in  the  bright,  steady,  benignant 
glow.  Again  Jack  and  Dred  were  rowing,  and  the  boat 
was  creeping,  yard  by  yard,  through  the  water,  and 
leaving  behind  them  a  restless,  broken,  dark  line  upon 
the  smooth  and  otherwise  unbroken  surface. 

The  sun  rose  higher  and  higher,  and  the  day  grew 
warmer  and  warmer,  and  still  not  a  breath  of  air  broke 
the  level  surface  of  the  water.  It  was,  maybe,  ten 
o'clock,  and  the  point  of  land  they  had  been  abreast  of 
an  hour  before,  lay  well  behind.  "That  's  the  inlet, 
where  you  see  them  sand-hills  ahead  yonder,"  said  Dred. 

''  How  far  are  they  away  ?  "  said  Jack. 

"  Not  more  'n  three  mile,"  I  reckon. 

The  pirates  in  the  sloop  were  rowing  steadily  with 
the  sweeps.    Jack  could  see,  every  now  and  then,  the 


310  JACK   BALLISTEE'S   FORTUNES 

glint  of  the  long  oars  as  they  were  dipped  into  the 
water  and  came  out,  wet  and  flashing,  in  the  sunlight. 
"  They  're  gaining  some  on  us,  Dred,"  said  he,  after  a 
while, 

"  That  comes  from  a  sick  man's  rowing,"  said  Dred, 
grimly.  "  Well,  they  won't  catch  us  now,  if  the  wind  '11 
only  hold  off  a  little  longer.  But  I  'm  nigh  done  up,  lad, 
and  that  's  the  truth." 

"  So  am  I,"  said  Jack.  Again,  as  during  the  night 
before,  the  keen  sense  of  danger  that  had  thrilled  him 
seemed  to  be  sunk  into  his  utter  weariness  —  dulled 
and  blunted. 

They  rowed  for  a  while  in  silence.  The  sand-hills 
crept  nearer.  Suddenly  Dred  stood  up  in  the  boat, 
holding  his  oar  with  one  hand.  He  did  not  speak  for  a 
moment.  "  There  's  a  breeze  coming  up  down  yonder," 
he  said.  "  They  're  cracking  on  all  sail.  They  '11  get  it, 
like  enough,  afore  we  do.  'T  is  lucky  we  be  so  nigh  the 
inlet."  He  took  his  place  again.  "  Pull  away,  lad,"  said 
he ;  "I  reckon  we  're  pretty  safe,  but  we  '11  make  it 
sure.  As  soon  as  we  get  to  the  inlet  we  can  take  all 
day  to  rest." 

Jack  could  see  that  they  were  raising  every  stitch  of 
sail  aboard  the  sloop.  Then,  presently,  as  he  looked, 
he  could  see  the  sails  fill  out,  smooth  and  round. 
"  They  've  got  it  now,"  said  Dred,  "  and  they  '11  be  com- 
ing down  on  us,  hand  over  hand." 

The  young  lady  was  looking  out  astern.  Jack  man- 
aged to  catch  Dred's  eye  as  he  turned  for  a  moment 
and  looked  out  forward.  He  could  not  trust  himself 
to  speak.  Again  that  heavy  weight  of  fear  and  anxiety 
was  growing  bigger  and  sharper.  Suddenly  it  swelled 
almost  to  despair.  He  did  not  say  anything,  but  his 
eyes  asked,  "What  are  our  chances'?" 

Dred  must  have  read  the  question,  for  he  said: 
"Well,  it  hain't  likely  they  '11  overhaul  us   now.    If 


THE   FOUKTH   DAY  311 

we  'd  only  had  wind  enougli  to  cany  us  to  the  inlet 
last  night  we  'd  been  safe ;  but  the  next  best  thing  is 
no  wind  at  all,  and  that  we  've  had.  I  reckon  we  '11 
make  it  if  we  keep  close  to  the  shore  where  't  is  too 
shoal  for  them  to  folly.  Yonder  comes  the  breeze.  By 
blood !  we  '11  get  it  afore  I  thought  we  would."  He 
drew  in  his  oar,  and  handed  it  to  Jack.  "  You  take 
this,"  said  he,  "  and  keep  on  rowing,  and  I  '11  trim  sail." 
He  went  forward,  and  raised  the  gaff  a  little  higher. 
"  Pull  away,  lad  —  pull  away !   and  don't  sit  staring." 

In  spite  of  what  Dred  had  said.  Jack  could  see  that 
the  sloop  was  rapidly  overhauling  them.  It  was  now 
coming  rushing  down  upon  them,  looming  every  mo- 
ment bigger  and  higher.  In  the  distance  Jack  could 
see  a  black  strip  lining  the  smooth  surface  of  the 
water.  It  was  the  breeze  rushing  toward  them  ahead 
of  the  oncoming  sail.  Suddenly,  all  around  them,  the 
water  was  dusked  with  cat's-paws.  Then  came  a  sud- 
den cool  puff  of  air  —  a  faint  breath  promising  the 
breeze  to  come.  The  sails  swelled  sluggishly,  and 
then  fell  limp  again.  The  line  of  oncoming  breeze 
that  had  been  sharp  now  looked  broken  and  ragged 
upon  the  nearer  approach  of  the  wind.  "  Now  she  's 
coming,"  said  Dred. 

He  was  looking  steadily  over  the  stern.  The  sloop, 
every  stitch  of  sail  spread,  was  making"  toward  them. 
There  was  a  white  snarl  of  waters  under  her  bows.  It 
seemed  to  Jack  that  in  five  minutes  she  must  be  upon 
them.  Suddenly  there  was  another  cool  breath,  then 
a  rush  of  air.  The  boom  swung  out,  the  sail  filled, 
and  the  boat  gave  a  swift  lurch  forward  with  the  rip- 
ple and  the  gurgle  of  water  about  them.  Then  the 
swift  wind  was  all  around  them,  and  the  boat  heeled 
over  to  it,  and  rushed  rapidly  away. 

Jack  was  still  rowing.  The  motion  had  grown  habit- 
ual with  him,  and  now  he  hardly  noticed  it.    The  sloop 


312  JACK   BALLISTER'S   FOETUNES 

seemed  to  be  almost  upon  them ;  lie  could  even  see  the 
men  uj^on  the  decks.  Dred  sat  grimly  at  the  tiller, 
looking  steadily  out  ahead,  never  mo\dng  a  hair. 
Jack  thrilled  as  with  a  sudden  spasm,  and  everji;hing 
about  him  seemed  to  melt  into  the  fear  rushing 
down  upon  them  —  the  desjDair  of  certain  capture. 
It  seemed  to  him  that  he  felt  his  face  twitching. 
He  looked  at  Dred.  There  were  haggard  lines  of  weak- 
ness upon  his  steadfast  face,  but  no  signs  of  anxiety. 
Again  Dred  must  have  read  his  look.  "  They  can't 
reach  in  here,"  said  he  ;  "  the  water  is  too  shoal."  Sud- 
denly, even  as  he  spoke.  Jack  saw  the  sloop  com- 
ing about.  He  could  hear  the  creak  of  the  block  and 
tackle  as  they  hauled  in  the  great  mainsail,  and  pres- 
ently it  was  flapping  limp  and  empty  of  wind.  Dred 
turned  swiftly  and  looked  over  his  shoulder.  "  D'  ye 
see  that  I "  he  said.  "  They  've  run  up  to  the  shoal  now. 
They  've  got  to  keep  out  into  the  channel,  and  that 's 
about  as  nigh  as  they  can  come  to  us.  They  '11  run 
out  into  the  channel  again  now.  What  they  '11  try  to 
do  '11  be  to  head  us  off  at  the  inlet,  but  they  've  got  to 
make  a  long  leg  and  a  short  leg  to  do  that.  Ay ! "  he 
cried,  exultantly,  "  you  're  too  late,  my  hearty ! "  And  he 
shook  his  fist  at  the  sloop. 

The  sloop  had  now  fallen  off  broadside  to  them.  Its 
limp  sails  began  to  fill  again,  and  it  looked  ten  times  as 
big  as  it  had  done  running  bow  on.  Suddenly  there 
was  a  round  puff  of  smoke  in  the  sunlight,  instantly 
breaking  and  dissolving  in  the  sweeping  wind.  There 
was  a  splash  of  water ;  then  another  splash,  and  an- 
other, and  at  the  same  moment  a  rejDort  of  a  gun. 
Boom !  a  dull,  hea^'y,  thudding  sound,  upon  the  beat 
of  which  a  hundred  little  fish  skipped  out  of  the  water 
all  about  the  boat. 

At  the  heavy  beat  of  the  report,  the  young  lady 
uttered  an  exclamation  like  a  smothered  scream.     The 


THE  FOUETH  DAY  313 

cannon-ball  went  skipping  and  ricochetting  across  their 
bows  and  away.  "  Don't  you  be  afraid,  mistress,"  said 
Dred ;  "  there  be  n't  one  chance  in  a  thousand  of  their 
hitting  us  at  this  distance ;  and,  d'  ye  see,  they  're  run- 
ning away  from  us  now.  Each  minute  there  's  less 
chance  of  them  harming  us.  Just  you  bear  up  a  little, 
and  they  '11  be  out  of  distance." 

She  brushed  her  hand  for  a  moment  across  her  eyes, 
and  then  seemed  to  have  gained  some  command  over 
herself.     "  Ai'e  they  going  to  leave  us  I "  she  asked. 

"Why,  no,"  said  Dred,  "not  exactly.  They  know 
now  that  we  're  making  for  the  inlet.  What  they  '11 
do  '11  be  to  run  out  fuixler  into  the  channel,  and  then 
come  back  on  another  tack,  and  along  close  in  to  the 
inlet  so  as  to  head  us  off.  But,  d'  ye  see,  the  water 
be  too  shoal  for  them,  and  they  're  likely  to  run 
aground  any  moment  now.  As  for  us,  why,  we  've 
got  a  straight  course,  d'  ye  see,  and  our  chance  is  ten 
to  one  of  making  through  the  inlet  afore  they  can 
stop  us." 

Again  there  was  a  puff  of  smoke  that  swept  away, 
dissolving  down  the  wind.  Again  came  the  skip- 
ping shot,  and  again  there  was  the  dull,  heavy  boom 
of  the  cannon.  It  seemed  to  Jack  that  the  shot  was 
coming  straight  into  the  boat.  The  young  lady  gripped 
the  rail  with  her  hand.  The  cannon-ball  went  hissing 
and  screeching  past  them.  "  By  blood !  "  said  Dred, 
"  that  was  a  nigh  one,  for  sartin.  'T  was  Morton  his- 
self  lay  that  gun,  I  '11  be  bound."  Another  cloud  of 
smoke,  and  another  dull  report,  and  another  ball  came 
skipping  across  the  water,  this  time  wide  of  the  mark. 
The  sloop  was  now  running  swiftly  away  from  them, 
growing  smaller  and  smaller  in  the  distance,  her  sails 
again  smooth  and  round,  tilting  to  the  wind.  They  did 
not  fii'e  any  more.  Jack  bent  to  the  rowing,  plunging 
and  splashing  the  water  in  the  tenseness  of  his  appre- 


314  JACK  BALLISTER'S   FORTUNES 

tension  and  fear.  He  no  longer  felt  the  smart  of  his 
hands  or  the  weariness  of  his  mnscles ;  it  seemed  to  him 
that  he  had  never  felt  so  strong. 

It  was  not  until  the  guns  had  been  fired  that  the 
young  lady  appreciated  the  full  danger  they  were  in. 
Jack's  own  feelings  for  the  immediate  time  had  been 
too  tense  to  notice  her.  Now  he  saw  that  she  was 
wringing  her  hands  and  tearlessly  sobbing,  her  face 
as  white  as  ashes.  "  Come,  come,  mistress  ! "  said  Dred, 
roughly.  "  'T  won't  do  no  good  for  you  to  take  on  so. 
Be  still,  will  you ! " 

The  brusqueness  of  his  speech  silenced  her  somewhat. 
Jack  saw  her  bite  at  her  hand  in  the  tense  suppression 
she  set  upon  herself. 

"  How  far  is  it  to  the  inlet  ? "  said  Jack,  hoarsely. 

"  Half  a  mile,"  said  Dred. 

Jack  turned  his  head  to  look.  "Mind  your  oars," 
said  Dred,  sharply;  "'t  is  no  time  to  look  now.  I  '11 
mind  the  inlet.  'T  won't  get  us  there  any  quicker  for 
you  to  look.  By  blood ! "  he  added,  "  she 's  coming  about 
again." 

The  sloop  was  maybe  a  mile  away;  again  it  was 
coming  about.  "  Now  for  it ! "  said  Dred.  "  'T  is  they 
or  us  this  time."  Jack  swung  desperately  to  the  oars. 
"  That 's  right  —  pull  away !  Every  inch  gained  is  that 
much  longer  life  for  all  on  us." 

The  water  was  now  dappled  with  white  caps,  and 
the  swift  wind  drove  the  yawl  plunging  forward.  The 
sloop  was  now  set  upon  the  same  course  that  they 
were,  only  bearing  toward  them  to  head  them  off.  As 
for  them,  their  leeway  was  bringing  them  nearer  and 
nearer  the  shore.  Dred  put  down  the  helm  a  little 
further  so  as  to  keep  the  boat  off  the  shoals.  This 
lost  them  a  little  headway.  Jack's  every  faculty  was 
bent  upon  rowing.  The  sea-gulls  rose  before  them 
in  dissolving  flight  —  the  cannon-shots  had  aroused 


THE   FOURTH   DAY  315 

tliem  all  along  the  shore,  and  Jack  heard  then*  clamor 
dimly  and  distantly  through  the  turmoil  of  his  own 
excited  fears.  His  throat  was  dry  and  hot,  and  his 
mouth  parched.  He  could  hear  the  blood  surging  and 
thumping  in  his  ears.  He  looked  at  the  young  lady 
as  though  in  a  dream,  and  saw  dully  that  her  face  was 
very  white  and  that  she  gripped  the  rail  of  the  boat. 
Her  knuckles  were  white  with  the  strain,  and  he  saw 
the  shine  of  the  rings  upon  her  fingers.  The  sloop, 
as  he  looked  at  it,  seemed  to  grow  almost  visibly  larger 
to  his  eyes ;  it  seemed  to  tower  as  it  approached.  He 
could  see  the  figures  of  the  men  swarming  upon  the 
decks.  He  looked  over  his  shoulder  —  the  inlet  was 
there.  "  Unship  them  oars,"  said  Dred  sharply ;  "  't  is 
sail  or  naught  now."  Then  as  Jack,  unshipping  the 
oars,  tipped  the  boat  a  little,  Dred  bm'st  out  hoarsely, 
"  Steady,  there,  you  bloody  fool !  what  d'  ye  heave 
about  so  for ! "  Jack  drew  in  the  oars  and  laid  them 
down  across  the  thwarts,  and  again  Dred  burst  out 
roughly :  "  Look  out  what  ye  're  doing !  You  're 
scattering  the  water  all  over  me." 

"  I  did  n't  mean  it,"  said  Jack ;  "  I  could  n't  help  it.'^ 
Dred  glared  at  him,  but  did  not  reply.  Jack  looked 
over  his  shoulder;  the  broad  mouth  of  the  inlet  was 
opening  swiftly  before  them  —  the  inlet  and  safety. 
Suddenly  the  bottom  of  the  boat  grated  and  hung 
upon  the  sand ;  and  Jack,  with  a  dreadful  thrill,  real- 
ized that  they  were  aground.  The  young  lady  clutched 
the  rail  with  both  hands  with  a  shriek  as  the  boat 
careened  on  the  bar,  almost  capsizing.  Dred  burst 
out  with  a  terrible  oath  as  he  sprang  up  and  drew  in. 
the  sheets  hand  over  hand.  "Push  her  off!"  he  roared. 
Jack  seized  one  of  the  oars;  but  before  he  could  use 
it  the  yawl  was  free  again  and  afloat,  and  once  more 
Dred  sat  down,  quickly  running  out  the  sheets. 
Jack's  heart  was  beating  and  fluttering  in  his  throat 


316  JACK  BALLISTER'S   FORTUNES 

SO  that  he  almost  choked  with  it.  Dred  did  not  look 
at  the  sloop  at  all.  Some  one  was  calling  to  them 
through  a  speaking-trumpet,  but  Jack  could  not  dis- 
tinguish the  words,  and  Dred  paid  no  attention  to  them. 
There  was  another  pulf  of  smoke,  and  this  time  a  loud, 
booming  report,  and  the  almost  instant  splash  and  dash 
of  the  shot  across  their  stern.  Jack  saw  it  all,  dully 
and  remotely.  Why  was  Dred  sailing  across  the  mouth 
of  the  inlet  instead  of  running  into  it  f  "  Why  don't 
you  run  into  the  inlet,  Dred  ? "  he  cried,  shrilly.  "Why 
don't  you  run  into  the  inlet  ?  You  're  losing  time  !  They 
'11  be  down  upon  us  in  a  minute  if  you  don't  run  in ! " 

"  You  mind  your  own  business,"  shouted  Dred,  "  and 
I  '11  mind  mine  ! "  Then  he  added,  "  I  've  got  to  run  up 
past  the  bar,  ha'  n't  II  I  can't  run  across  the  sand, 
can  I?" 

The  sea-gulls  were  whirling  and  circling  all  about 
them,  and  the  air  was  full  of  their  screaming  clamor, 

"  About ! "  called  Dred,  sharply ;  and  he  put  down 
the  helm. 

Jack  could  see  straight  out  of  the  inlet  to  the  wide 
ocean  beyond.  It  was  a  quarter  of  a  mile  away,  and 
there  there  was  a  white  line  of  breakers.  There  was  a 
loud,  heavy  report  —  startlingiy  loud  to  Jack's  ears  — 
and  a  cannon-ball  rushed,  screeching,  past  them.  He 
ducked  his  head,  crouching  down,  and  the  young  lady 
screamed  out  shrilly.  Dred  sat  at  the  helm,  as  grim  and 
as  silent  as  fate.  Again  the  bottom  of  the  boat  grated 
upon  the  sand.  "  My  Grod ! "  burst  out  Jack,  "  we  're 
aground  again  ! "  Dred  never  stirred.  The  yawl  grated 
and  ground  upon  the  sandy  bar  and  then,  once  more, 
it  was  free. 

Then  Dred  looked  over  his  shoulder.  He  looked  back. 
Then  he  looked  over  his  shoulder  again.  "  G-et  down, 
mistress  ! "  he  called  out,  sharply.  "  Get  down  in  the  bot- 
tom of  the  boat !     They  're  going  to  give  us  a  volley." 


THE    PIKATES    FIRE     UPON     THE    PUGITIVKS. 


THE   FOURTH   DAY  317 

Jack  saw  the  glint  of  the  sunlight  upon  the  musket- 
barrels.  The  young  lady  looked  at  Dred  with  wide  eyes. 
She  seemed  bewildered.  "  Gret  down  ! "  cried  out  Dred, 
harshly.  "  Ai-e  you  a  fool  ?  Gret  down,  I  say ! "  Jack 
reached  out  and  caught  her  violently  by  the  arm  and 
dragged  her  down  into  the  bottom  of  the  boat.  Even 
as  he  did  so  he  saw  a  broken,  irregular  cloud  of  smoke 
shoot  out  from  the  side  of  the  sloop.  He  shut  his  eyes 
spasmodically.  There  was  a  loud,  rattling  report.  He 
heard  the  shrill  piping  and  whistling  of  the  bullets  rush- 
ing toward  them.  There  was  a  splashing  and  clipping. 
Would  he  be  hurt  f  There  was  the  jar  of  thudding 
bullets.  There  was  a  shock  that  seemed  to  numb  his 
arm  to  the  shoulder.  He  was  hit.  No ;  the  bullet  had 
struck  the  rail  just  beside  his  hand.  He  was  unhurt. 
He  opened  his  eyes.  A  vast  rush  of  relief  seemed  to 
fill  his  soul.  No  one  was  hurt.  The  danger  was  past 
and  gone.  No  !  some  of  the  pirates  were  about  to  fii'e 
again.  There  was  a  puif  of  smoke ;  then  a  broken  cloud 
of  smoke,  a  sharp  report,  another,  and  another;  then 
three  or  four  almost  together.  The  bullets  were  hum- 
ming and  singing,  clipping  along  the  top  of  the  water. 
One  —  two,  struck  with  a  thud  against  the  side  of  the 
boat.  Jack  saw,  in  a  blinded  sort  of  way,  that  the 
sloop  had  come  up  into  the  wind;  she  could  follow 
them  no  further.  There  were  half  a  dozen  puffs  of 
smoke  altogether.  O  Grod !  would  the  dreadful  dan- 
ger never  be  past  ?     Was  there  no  way  of  escape  ? 

"Ach!"  cried  out  Dred,  sharply. 

Jack  looked  up  with  an  agonizing,  blinding  terror. 
Was  Dred  hurt  !  No ;  he  could  not  be.  There  was  no 
sign  of  hurt.  Was  that  a  little  tear  in  his  shirt  ?  O 
God  !  Was  it  real  ?  Suddenly  there  was  blood.  0,  it 
could  not  be.  Yes;  there  was  a  great,  wide  stain  of 
blood  shooting  out  and  spreading  over  his  shirt!  "0, 
Dred!"  screamed  Jack,  shrilly. 


318  JACK  BALLISTER'S  FORTUNES 

"  Sit  down  ! "  roared  Dred.  He  put  his  hand  to  his 
stomach,  at  the  side,  and  then  there  was  blood  in  his 
hand.  Suddenly  there  was  a  broken  swirl  and  toss  all 
around  them.  It  was  the  broken  ground-swell  coming 
in  past  the  shoals.  The  boat  pitched  and  tossed.  There 
was  a  thundering  splash  of  breakers.  Jack  sprang  up. 
"  Steady ! "  cried  out  Dred.  Jack's  blinded  eyes  saw 
that  the  pirate  sloop  was  far  away  in  the  distance.  Were 
they  still  shooting  I  He  did  not  know.  He  saw  every- 
thing with  dizzy  vision.  0  Grod !  Dred's  shirt  was  all 
soaked  mth  blood.  What  was  it  now?  There  was 
something.  They  were  out  in  the  ocean ;  that  was  it 
—  the  inlet  was  passed.  "  Oh  —  h ! "  groaned  Dred, 
"I'mhurt  — I'm  hurt!" 


CHAPTER  XL 


FIAT   JUSTITIA 


AS  the  boat  swept  into  the  great  lift  and  fall  of  the 
J-A.  ocean  swell,  Dred  had  leaned  forward  and  rested 
his  forehead  npon  the  tiller,  which  he  still  held.  His 
body  shook  and  heaved,  and  Jack  sat  like  one  turned  to 
stone.  The  thought  went  through  his  mind,  "  He  is 
dying — will  he  die  as  he  sits  there!  Can  it  really  be 
that  he  is  dying "? "  Then  Dred  looked  up,  and  his  face 
was  as  white  as  ashes.  Great  beads  of  sweat  stood  on 
his  forehead.  "  Some  water,"  he  said,  hoarsely ;  "  give 
me  some  water,  lad." 

Miss  Eleanor  Parker  still  lay  in  the  bottom  of  the 
boat,  whither  Jack  had  dragged  her.  Jack  went  for- 
ward blindly  across  the  thwarts  and  brought  out  a  cup 
of  water.  His  hand  shook  and  trembled ;  his  eyes  saw, 
but  did  not  see,  what  he  was  doing;  his  throat  was 
constricted  as  though  it  would  choke  him.  Then  he 
came  back  with  the  cup  of  water.  It  slopped  and  spilled 
over  his  hand.  Suddenly,  Miss  Eleanor  Parker  shrieked. 
She  had  aroused,  and  in  her  first  glance  had  seen  the 
blood.  "  Oh,  what  is  it  ?  "  she  cried.  Dred  had  raised 
himself  again  from  the  tiller  upon  which  he  had  been 
leaning,  and  he  groaned.  Jack  pushed  past  the  young 
lady  without  speaking  to  her  or  noticing  her,  and  Dred 
reached  out  his  hand  for  the  cup  of  water.  It  shook,  and 
part  of  the  water  spilled,  as  he  put  it  to  his  lips  and, 
throwing  back  his  haggard  face,  drank  it   off.     The 


319 


320  JACK  BALLISTEE'S   FOETUNES 

young  lady  was  sitting  staring  at  him,  white  even  to 
the  very  lips.  "  Oh !  oh  ! "  she  moaned,  wringing  her 
hands,  "  oh  !  oh  ! "  Jack  i^auted,  his  breath  coming  hot 
in  his  dry  mouth.  He  tried  to  moisten  his  lips  again 
and  again,  but  they  remained  dry. 

The  yawl,  its  course  unheeded,  had  come  up  into  the 
wind,  rising  and  falling  with  the  slow  heaving  of  the 
ground-swell,  the  sail  fluttering  and  flapping.  Dred 
leaned  with  one  elbow  upon  the  seat  beside  him.  "  Ye  '11 
have  to  go  up  for'rd,  mistress,"  he  said  presently,  in 
a  hoarse  voice,  "  I  've  got  to  do  summat  —  I  've  got 
to  do  summat  to  stop  this  here  place  somehow.  O 
Lord ! "  he  groaned.  She  got  up  and  went  forward  to 
the  bow,  where  she  crouched  down,  hiding  her  face  in 
her  hands.  "  Reach  me  that  there  shawl,"  said  Dred. 
"We  've  got  to  tear  it  up." 

Jack  wrenched  open  the  bundle,  and  with  hands  and 
teeth  tore  the  shawl  into  strips.  Dred  had  stripped  off 
his  shirt.  Jack  looked  at  him.  He  saw  it,  and  he  thrilled 
dreadfully  and  turned  his  eyes  away.  "  Come,  come, 
lad,"  said  Dred,  "  this  be  no  time  for  any  such-like  fool- 
ishness.   Well,  give  me  that  strip,  I  '11  do  it  for  myself." 

The  voung  ladv  still  sat  crouched  down  in  the  bow. 
It  was  all  perfectly  silent  as  Jack  busied  himself  about 
Dred.     "  Are  you  more  comfortable  1 "  he  said,  at  last. 

"  Yes,"  said  Dred.  "  M-m-m-m,"  he  groaned.  "  Let  me 
lie  down."  Jack  had  helped  him  on  with  his  coat  again, 
and  had  buttoned  it  under  his  chin.  He  had  rolled  up 
the  shirt  and  thrown  it  overboard.  "  'T  is  all  right  now, 
mistress," he  said;  "you  can  come  back  here  again  now." 

He  supported  Dred  as  the  wounded  man  lay  down 
upon  the  stern  thwart,  then  he  covered  him  over  with 
the  overcoats.  He  did  not  leave  him  to  help  the  young 
lady  as  she  came  aft  to  sit  down  upon  the  bench  op- 
posite to  where  Dred  lay.  Suddenly  she  burst  out 
crying. 


FIAT  JUSTITIA  321 

Dred  lay  with  his  eyes  closed.  His  face  was  white 
and  his  forehead  covered  with  a  dew  of  sweat.  He 
opened  his  eyes  for  a  moment  and  looked  at  her,  but 
said  nothing,  and  closed  them  again.  Jack,  his  breast 
heaving  and  panting,  sat  at  the  tiller.  As  he  did  so  he 
saw  that  there  were  stains  of  blood  upon  it  and  upon 
the  seat.  Then  he  drew  in  the  sheets,  and  the  yawl 
once  more  came  up  to  its  course. 

The  pirates  must  have  landed  from  the  sloop,  for  they 
had  come  out  across  the  land  and  down  to  the  beach. 
They  fired  a  few  muskets-shots  after  the  boat,  but  the 
bullets  fell  short,  and  Jack  held  the  yawl  steadily  to  her 
course,  and  soon  they  were  di-opping  the  hills  of  the 
inlet  far  and  farther  away  behind. 

After  a  while  Dred  began  every  now  and  then  to  sigh 
recurrently,  and  it  was  very  dreadful  to  listen  to  him. 
All  about  them  was  the  bright  sunlight  and  the  swift 
salt  wind  driving  the  boat  onward  with  its  tragic  freight 
under  the  warm,  mellow  sky,  so  serenely  calm  and  so 
remotely  peaceful.  Jack,  sitting  there,  heard,  as  from 
a  distance,  the  young  lady's  convulsive  sobbing.  Sud- 
denly Dred  spoke  hoarsely.  "  I  want  another  drink  of 
water,"  he  said. 

"Will  you  get  the  water  for  him,  mistress?"  said 
Jack.  Then  he  knew  that  he  too  was  crying,  and  he 
wiped  his  eyes  with  the  skirt  of  his  jacket. 

She  instantly  arose  and  went  forward  to  the  barraca 
in  the  bows,  presently  coming  back  with  a  brimming 
cup  of  water.  Dred  raised  himself  upon  his  elbow  and 
drank  it  off,  and  again  they  sailed  onward  for  a  long 
time  of  silence. 

Suddenly  Dred  spoke  in  a  low,  uncertain  voice. 
"You  've  got  to  run  ashore,  lad,"  he  said.  "I  can't 
stand  this  any  more ;  I  've  got  to  get  ashore." 

"  Do  you  think  I  can  get  the  boat  through  the 
breakers  ? "  Jack  said,  chokingly. 

21 


322  JACK  BALLISTER'S   FOETUNES 

"Ye  '11  have  to,"  said  Dred,  groaning  as  he  spoke, 
"for  I  can't  bear  it  here."  Then  Jack  drew  in  the 
sheets  and  brought  the  boat  up  with  its  bow  diago- 
nally toward  the  distant  beach.  The  sand-hills  of  the 
inlet  were  lost  in  the  distance,  and  all  danger  of  pur- 
suit was  over.  As  the  yawl  drew  nearer  to  the  beach, 
Jack  could  see  that  very  little  surf  was  running. 
"  You  '11  have  to  bring  her  around  with  her  bows  to 
the  sea,"  whispered  Dred,  opening  his  eyes ;  "  and 
then  take  to  the  oars  —  and  let  the  surf  drive  her  in 
to  the  beach.  Try  to  keep  her  off  —  lad  —  keep  her 
bows  steady."     He  panted  as  he  spoke. 

Jack  left  the  tiller  and  shipped  the  oars.  They  were 
now  close  to  the  beach,  and  the  ground-swell  was 
sharpening  to  the  breakers  that  burst  into  foam  a  little 
further  in.  He  brought  the  bows  of  the  boat  around  to 
the  sea,  and  then  backed  water  toward  the  shore.  "Keep 
her  off,"  panted  Dred,  "  she  '11  go  in  fast — fast  enough 
of  herself." 

Presently  they  were  among  the  breakers ;  they  were 
not  very  heavy,  but  enough  to  make  it  needful  to  be 
careful.  Suddenly,  a  coming  breaker  shot  the  yawl 
toward  the  beach.  As  the  water  ebbed,  the  boat  tilted 
upon  the  sand.  Jack  dropped  his  oars  and  leaped  out. 
The  sweep  of  the  next  wave  struck  against  the  yawl 
and  tilted  it  violently  the  other  way.  The  barraca  and 
the  oars  slid  rattling.  Dred  groaned,  and  the  young 
lady  grasped  convulsively  at  the  rail.  "  Pull  her  up ! " 
exclaimed  Dred. 

"  I  will,"  said  Jack,  "  but  I  can  hardly  manage  her." 
He  held  to  the  bows,  and  when  the  next  wave  came  he 
pulled  the  boat  around  up  upon  the  beach.  The  wash 
of  the  breaker  ebbed,  the  sand  sliding  from  under  his 
heels.  Then  came  another  wave,  and  with  its  wash  he 
dragged  the  yawl  still  further  up  the  beach.  Then  he 
ran  up  with  the  bow-line  and  drove  the  anchor  into 


FIAT   JUSTITIA  323 

the  sand.  He  came  back,  "his  shoes  and  stockings  and 
loose  breeches  soaked  with  the  salt  water.  "You  get 
out,  mistress,"  he  said,  "  then  I  '11  help  Dred."  She 
obeyed  him  silently,  going  a  little  distance  up  from 
the  edge  of  the  shore  and  there  sitting  crouched  down 
upon  the  sand.  "Now,  Dred,"  said  Jack.  Dred 
groaned  as  he  arose  slowly  and  laboriously.  "Easy, 
easy,  lad,"  he  whispered,  as  Jack  slipped  his  arm  around 
him.  Then  he  laid  his  arm  over  Jack's  shoulder  and 
heavily  and  painfully  clambered  out  of  the  boat.  He 
sat  for  a  while  upon  the  rail,  the  wash  of  a  breaker 
sweeping  up  around  his  feet  and  ankles.  "  What  a  lucky 
thing  't  was,"  he  said,  looking  down  at  the  thin  slide 
of  water,  "  that  we  had  high  tide  to  carry  us  through 
the  inlet,  else  we  'd  'a'  been  lost."  Then  Jack  burst  out 
crying.  There  seemed  something  very  pitiful  in  Dred's 
thinking  about  that  now.  After  a  while  Dred  steadied 
himself  and  then  arose  slowly,  leaning  heavily  upon 
Jack,  who  supported  him  as  he  walked  up  to  the  little 
bank  of  sand  that  fronted  upon  the  beach.  Here  the 
wounded  man  made  an  effort  as  though  to  sit  down. 

"  Can't  you  go  a  little  fui'ther  f "  said  Jack. 

"  Not  much,"  he  whispered. 

"  O  Dred ! "  said  Jack,  "  I  'm  afraid  you  're  worse,  I  'm 
afraid  you  're  worse  —  "  Dred  did  not  reply.  His  hand 
touched  Jack's  cheek,  and  it  felt  cold  and  limp. 

"  What  can  I  do  ?  "  said  the  young  lady,  rousing  her- 
self. 

"  You  may  fetch  up  the  two  overcoats  from  the  boat," 
Jack  said,  "  and  be  quick  about  it." 

He  had  seated  Dred  upon  the  sand,  where  he  instantly 
sank  down  and  lay  at  length.  Jack  supported  his  head 
until  the  young  lady  came  with  the  two  rough  over- 
coats. He  rolled  one  of  them  up  into  a  pillow  which  he 
slid  beneath  Dred's  head,  and  then  he  went  down  to 
the  boat  and  brought  up  the  oars,  and  with  them  and 


324  JACK  BALLISTER'S  FORTUNES 

the  other  overcoat,  he  and  the  young  lady  arranged  a 
shelter  over  the  wounded  man's  face. 

"  Bring  me  a  drink  of  rum,  lad ;  I  feel  sort  of  faint- 
like," Dred  whispered,  and  Jack  again  ran  off  down  to 
the  boat,  presently  returning  with  the  bottle.  He  poured 
out  some  of  the  liquor  into  the  cup,  and  Dred  drank  it  off. 
It  seemed  to  revive  him.  "  Come  here,  lad,  there's  sum- 
mat  —  summat  I  want  to  say  to  ye."  Jack  came  close 
to  him,  and  the  young  lady  also  approached.  "  I  want 
to  speak  to  —  Jack  hisself ,  mistress,  —  if  you  '11  leave 
us  alone  a  bit,"  said  Dred;  and  then  she  turned  and 
walked  away. 

Jack  watched  her  as  she  sat  down  upon  the  sand  some 
distance  away,  wiping  her  eyes  with  her  handkerchief. 
The  sun  stood  midway  in  the  heavens  and  it  was  very 
warm,  and  he  stripped  off  his  coat  as  he  sat  down 
alongside  of  Dred.  Dred  reached  out  his  hand.  Jack 
hesitated  for  a  moment,  then,  seeing  what  he  wanted, 
took  it.  Dred  pressed  Jack's  hand  strongly.  "  I  be- 
lieve I  've  got  my — dose,  this  time — lad,"  he  whispered. 

"Don't  say  that,  Dred,"  said  Jack;  "I — "  and  then 
he  broke  down,  his  body  shaking  convulsively. 

"I  don't  know,"  said  Dred,  "but  I  kind  o'  think  I 
—  won't  get  over  this.  But  if  I  should  die,  I  want  to  ax 
you,  lad — don't  you  never  tell  the  young  mistress 't  was 
I  —  shot  her  brother." 

"  No,  I  won't,"  gasped  Jack.  "  I  won't  tell  her,  Dred," 
and  again  Dred  pressed  the  hand  he  held. 

He  waited  for  a  long,  long  while, —  his  breath  every 
now  and  then  catching  convulsively, —  thinking  Dred 
might  have  something  more  to  say ;  but  the  wounded 
man  did  not  speak  again,  but  lay  there  holding  his  hand. 
"  Is  that  all,  Dred  ?  "  he  said  at  last.  "  Have  you  nothing 
more  on  your  mind  to  say  I " 

Dred  did  not  answer  for  a  while.  Then,  as  though 
collecting  himself,  "No  —  that 's  all,"  he  said;  and  then 


FIAT  JUSTITIA  325 

again,  presently,  "  I  've  been  a  bad  man,  I  have.  Well, 
I  —  can't  help  that  now  —  now  —  now,"  and  then  he 
lapsed  away  into  silence.  He  loosened  his  hold  upon 
Jack's  hand  and  let  his  own  fall  limp. 

Then  Jack  realized  with  a  shock,  how  very  much 
worse  Dred  was  than  he  had  been.  He  had  been  grow- 
ing ever  weaker  and  weaker,  but  Jack  only  fully 
realized  it  now.  He  sat  watching ;  Dred  seemed  to  be 
drowsing.  "  I  want  another  drink  of  rum,"  he  whispered 
presently.  "  Another  drink  o'  rum  —  another  drink  o' 
rum  —  drink  o'  rum  —  drink  o'  rum,"  and  he  fell  to  re- 
peating the  words  with  lips  that  whispered  more  and 
more. 

Jack  arose  instantly.  The  bottle  and  cup  were  at  a 
little  distance.  The  cup  had  sand  in  it,  and  he  wiped 
it  out.  The  young  lady,  who  was  sitting  a  little  piece 
away,  arose  as  she  saw  him  coming.  "  Is  he  any  better 
now  f  "  she  asked. 

Jack  could  not  answer ;  he  shook  his  head.  He  knew 
that  Dred  was  going  to  die.  He  was  so  blinded  that  he 
could  hardly  see  to  pour  out  the  liquor.  But  he  did  so 
and  then  brought  it  to  Dred.  "  Here  't  is,  Dred,"  he 
said,  but  there  was  no  reply.  "  Here  't  is,  Dred,"  he 
said  again,  but  still  there  was  no  answer. 

Jack  thrilled  dreadfully.  He  bent  down  and  set  the 
cup  to  the  wounded  man's  lips,  but  Dred  was  uncon- 
scious of  everything.  Then  he  stood  up  and  tossed  out 
the  liquor  upon  the  sand.  "  Mistress ! "  he  called  out  in 
a  keen,  startled  voice  —  "  mistress,  come  here  quick  ! 
I  do  believe  he  's  passing." 

She  came  over  and  stood  looking  down  at  Dred.  She 
was  crying  violently.  Jack  sat  squatting  beside  him. 
He  reached  out  and  felt  Dred's  hand,  but  it  was  very 
cold  and  inert.  The  young  lady  crouched  down  upon 
the  other  side,  and  so  they  sat  for  a  long,  long  time. 
But  there  did  not  seem  to  be  any  change.    The  after- 


326  JACK  BALLISTEK'S   FORTUNES 

noon  slowly  waned  toward  sundown,  and  still  the}^  sat 
there.  "  You  'd  better  go  and  rest  a  bit,"  said  Jack,  at 
last,  to  the  young  lady.  "  You  're  worn  out  with  it  all. 
I  '11  call  you  if  there  's  any  change." 

She  shook  her  head ;  she  would  not  go. 

The  sun  sank  lower  and  lower  and  at  last  set,  but 
still  there  was  no  change.  The  young  lady  moved  rest- 
lessly now  and  then.  "  You  'd  better  get  up  and  walk 
a  bit,"  said  Jack,  as  the  gray  of  twilight  began  to  settle 
upon  them.  "  You  're  cramped,  sitting  there  so  long." 
Then  she  got  up  and  walked  up  and  down  at  a  little 
distance.  Jack  sat  still.  By  and  by  he  leaned  over 
Dred.  Dred  had  ceased  breathing.  A  sharp  pang  shot 
through  him.  Was  it  over  ?  Then  suddenly  Dred  be- 
gan again  his  convulsive  breathing,  and  Jack  drew  back 
once  more.  The  young  lady  still  walked  up  and  down, 
and  the  twilight  settled  more  and  more  dim  and  obscure. 
There  was  a  slight  movement,  and  again  Jack  leaned 
over  and  touched  Dred.  He  began  breathing  again,  and 
again  Jack  sat  down.  Then  there  came  a  longer  pause 
than  usual  in  the  breathing.  It  is  over,  thought  Jack. 
But  no ;  he  breathed  again,  now  fainter  and  shorter.  He 
ceased.  He  breathed.  He  ceased.  There  was  a  long, 
long  pause,  then  there  was  a  rustling  movement,  and 
then  silence.  Was  it  over?  Jack  sat  waiting,  trem- 
blingly and  breathlessly,  but  there  was  no  further 
sound.  Then  he  reached  over  in  the  darkness  and 
touched  Dred's  face.  He  drew  back  his  hand  quickly 
and  sat  for  a  moment  stunned  and  inert.  He  knew 
in  an  instant  what  it  was.     He  arose. 

The  stars  had  begun  to  twinkle  in  the  dim  sky,  but 
sky  and  sea  and  earth  were  blurred  and  lost  to  his 
flooded  eyes.  He  walked  over  toward  the  young  lady. 
She  stopped  as  he  approached.    "  How  is  he ! "  she  said. 

"  He  —  he  's  dead,"  said  Jack ;  and  then  he  put  up 
his  arm  across  his  face  and  began  crying. 


CHAPTER  XLI 


THE   BOAT   ADEIFT 


NEARLY  two  months  had  passed  in  Virginia  since 
Eleanor  Parker  had  been  abducted,  and  nothing 
yet  had  been  definitely  heard  concerning  her.  There 
were  many  vague  rumors  from  Ocracock,  and  it  was 
known  that  Blackbeard  the  pirate  had  been  for  some 
time  past  up  into  Virginia  waters.  He  had  been  seen 
at  Norfolk  two  or  three  times,  and  it  was  known  that  he 
had  been  up  into  the  James  River.  It  was  almost  more 
than  suspected  that  he  had  been  concerned  in  the  out- 
rage, but  there  was  as  yet  nothing  definite  to  confirm 
such  a  suspicion. 

Colonel  Parker  was  still  too  ill  to  quit  his  room,  though 
he  had  so  far  improved  that  he  had  begun  to  think  of 
taking  some  steps  for  the  recovery  of  his  daughter. 

One  day  Governor  Spottiswood  went  up  to  Marl- 
borough to  see  him.  He  was  almost  shocked  to  find 
the  great  man  so  weak  and  broken.  "  The  villains  ! " 
said  the  sick  man,  in  a  weak  and  querulous  voice,  so 
different  from  his  usual  stately  tones,  '"t  was  those 
men  murdered  my  Ned,  and  now  they  have  taken  all 
that  was  left  me." 

There  was  something  very  pathetic  in  the  helpless- 
ness of  the  proud,  great  man,  and  in  that  weakened, 
tremulous  voice.  The  governor  did  not  reply,  but  he 
pressed  the  hand  he  held, 

Mr.  Richard  Parker  stood  l^y  his  brother's  chair  dur- 
ing his  Excellency's  visit.     The  governor  looked  at  him 


328  JACK  BAXiLISTEE'S  FOKTUNES 

and  wondered  how  he  could  be  so  calm  and  -unmoved. 
He  had  never  liked  Mr.  Richard  Parker. 

"  My  brother  Richard,"  said  the  invalid,  putting  his 
weak  hand  to  his  forehead,  "my  brother  Richard  seems 
to  think  it  would  be  better  to  wait  until  we  have  some 
word  from  the  villains  who  kidnapped  Nelly."  He 
tui-ned  his  eyes  towards  his  brother  as  he  spoke.  "But 
I  can't  wait;  I  must  do  something  to  find  her,  and  I 
can't  wait.  Just  as  soon  as  I  am  well  enough  I  am 
going  to  take  steps  to  find  her.  They  say  that  villain 
Teach  hath  been  seen  up  in  the  James  River.  Maybe 
't  was  he  took  her  away,  and  I  am  going  to  fit  out  a 
boat, —  or  two  boats,  if  need  be, —  and  go  down  to 
North  Carolina  and  trv  to  find  her." 

Colonel  Parker's  plan  appeared  singularly  weak  and 
inconsequential  to  the  Governor,  but  he  chose  to  com- 
fort his  friend  by  encouraging  any  plan  that  might 
bring  hope  to  him. 

"  The  Pearl  and  the  Lyme  are  lying  at  Jamestown 
now,"  he  said.  "  I  was  talking  t'  other  day  about  your 
dreadful  misfortune  to  some  of  the  ofiicers  who  had 
come  over  to  the  palace.  Lieutenant  Maynard  was 
there,  and  I  am  sure,  from  what  he  said,  if  you  will  fit 
out  two  such  boats  and  will  raise  volunteers  for  such 
an  expedition,  he  will  take  command  of  it.  He  is  a 
brave  and  experienced  officer,  and  hath  had  to  do  with 
the  pirates  before  at  Madagascar.  He  would  make  the 
best  commander  you  could  have,  especially  if  it  came 
to  fighting  with  the  villains." 

"  To  my  mind,"  said  Mr.  Richard  Parker,  cutting  into 
the  talk,  "  't  would  be  a  mistake  to  push  against  the 
villains.  To  my  mind,  't  would  be  better  to  rest  for 
a  while  until  we  hear  from  them.  I  sha'  n't  need  to  tell 
you  that  they  can  have  no  reason  for  kidnapping  Nelly 
except  for  the  ransom  they  can  get  for  her.  If  that  is 
so  —  and  I  'm  sure  it  is  so  —  't  will  be  to  their  interest 


THE  BOAT  ADRIFT  329 

to  treat  her  well,  and  to  look  after  her  with  all  tender- 
ness, and  to  let  us  know  about  her  as  soon  as  possible ; 
but  if  we  should  use  violence  toward  them  there  is  no 
telling  what  they  might  do  out  of  revenge.  Maybe,  if 
we  press  them  too  closely,  they  may  carry  her  else- 
whither from  place  to  place,  or,  if  they  find  themselves 
driven  into  a  corner,  they  may  even  make  away  with 
her  for  their  own  safety  or  out  of  revenge."  Colonel 
Parker  shuddered  at  the  words,  but  Mr.  Richard  Parker 
continued  calmly,  as  before,  "  I  should  advise  to  wait  a 
little  while  longer.  We  have  waited  so  long  as  this,  and 
it  can  do  no  harm  to  wait  a  while  longer  with  patience." 

At  this  Colonel  Parker  cried  out  in  his  sick,  tremulous 
voice,  "  Patience !  patience !  'T  is  easy  enough  for  you 
to  talk  of  patience,  brother  Richard,  but  how  can  I  be 
patient  who  have  all  I  hold  most  precious  in  the  world 
taken  away  from  me?  O  Nelly,  Nelly!"  he  cried, 
covering  his  eyes  with  his  trembling  hands,  "  I  would 
give  all  I  have  in  the  world  to  have  thee  safe  back 
again  !     I  would !     I  would  ! " 

The  Governor  could  not  bear  to  look  at  the  sick  man 
in  his  grief.  He  turned  away  his  face  and  gazed  out  of 
the  window.  Mr.  Richard  Parker  said  nothing,  but 
shrugged  his  shoulders. 

Before  the  Grovernor  went,  he  took  Mr.  Richard 
Parker  aside  and  said  to  him,  "  Sir,  there  may  be  truth 
in  what  you  said  just  now  about  the  inad\dsability  of 
driving  too  hard  against  the  villains,  but  surely  you  must 
see  that 't  will  be  infinitely  better  for  your  poor  brother 
to  have  something  to  think  of — to  arouse  himself.  He 
sitteth  here  eating  his  heart  out,  and  any  plan  of  action 
is  better  for  him  than  none.  Were  I  in  your  place,  I 
would  encourage  him  in  thinking  of  such  things  rather 
than  discoui*age  him  from  such  hopes."  But  Mr.  Rich- 
ard Parker  only  shrugged  his  shoulders  as  before,  with- 
out vouchsafing  any  reply. 


333  JACK  B.ALLISTER's   FOKTUNES 

Governor  Spottiswood  had  not  thought  that  Colonel 
Parker's  rambling  plans  would  result  in  anything,  but 
within  two  weeks  two  boats  were  really  fitted  out  — 
the  schooner  that  belonged  to  Marlborough,  and  a 
larger  sloop  that  was  purchased  for  the  purpose.  It 
took  a  week  or  more  to  victual  the  boats  and  arm  and 
man  them,  and  by  that  time  Colonel  Parker  was  able 
to  be  up  and  about.  He  would  listen  to  no  advice,  but 
insisted  that  he  himself  should  have  chief  command  of 
the  expedition.  Mr.  Richard  Parker  advised  him  ve- 
hemently not  to  go,  and  Madam  Parker  besought  him 
with  tears  to  remain  at  home,  while  the  doctor  assured 
him  that  it  was  at  the  danger  of  his  life  that  he  went. 
"  Sir,"  said  the  gi'eat  man  to  the  doctor,  "  I  have  been 
a  soldier;  shall  I,  then,  stay  at  home  when  my  own 
daughter  is  in  danger,  and  let  others  do  the  fighting 
for  me?  You  shall  go  along,  if  you  please,  to  look 
after  my  poor  body,  but  go  I  shall,  if  God  gives  me  life 
to  go,"  and  so  he  did,  in  spite  of  all  that  his  family 
could  say  against  it. 

At  Norfolk  he  had  another  though  slight  attack  of 
his  malady,  and  by  order  of  the  doctor,  who  had  sailed 
with  the  expedition,  he  rested  for  over  a  week  at  the 
home  of  a  friend  at  that  place. 

It  was  while  he  was  lying  at  Mr.  Chorley's  house  that 
he  received  the  first  fragment  of  news  concerning  the 
young  lady  that  was  at  all  definite. 

A  coasting  \'essel  from  South  Carolina  ran  into  Nor- 
folk on  Saturday  night,  coming  direct  from  Ocracock, 
where  she  had  put  in  during  a  storm  a  few  days  before. 
The  captain  of  the  coaster  said  that  while  they  were 
lying  at  the  inlet  he  had  heard  a  good  deal  of  talk 
about  a  strange  lady  whom  it  was  said  Blackbeard  had 
brought  down  froni  Virginia  to  North  Carolina  a  month 
or  so  before,  and  whom  he  had  taken  somewhere  up 
into  the  sounds.     It  was  a  general  report  that  she  was 


THE   BOAT   ADRIFT  331 

extremely  beautiful,  and  a  lady  of  quality,  and  that  she 
had  been  brought  to  North  Carolina  against  her  will. 

It  was  on  Sunday  morning  that  somebody  told  Lieu- 
tenant Maynard  about  the  coasting  captain  and  his 
news,  and  he  lost  no  time  in  coming  to  speech  with  the 
man.  He  took  him  directly  to  Mr.  Chorley's  house, 
where  Colonel  Parker  was  still  staying.  Mr.  Chorley 
and  Mr.  Chancellor  Page  and  Dr.  Young  were  all  pres- 
ent when  Captain  Niles  told  his  story  to  Colonel  Parker. 
"It  must  be  Nelly!"  cried  out  the  poor  bereaved  father. 
"  It  can  be  no  one  else  than  she  ! " 

"I  would  not  build  too  much  upon  such  a  rumor," 
said  Mr.  Chorley.  "Nevertheless,  it  does  seem  as 
though,  at  last,  you  have  really  news  of  her.  And  now 
the  question  is,  how  do  you  propose  to  act?  'T  will 
never  do  to  be  too  hasty  in  such  a  delicate  matter." 

But  Colonel  Parker  was  so  eager  to  set  sail  at  once 
in  quest  of  his  daughter  that  he  would  listen  to  noth- 
ing that  his  friends  advised  to  the  contrary.  Mr. 
Chorley  urged  again  and  again  that  the  utmost  caution 
should  be  used  lest  the  pirates  should  carry  the  youDg 
lady  still  further  away  from  rescue,  or  maybe  take  some 
violent  action  to  protect  themselves.  He  suggested 
that  Grovernor  Eden  be  wi'itten  to  and  requested  to  take 
the  matter  in  hand.  "  Write  to  Governor  Eden  ! "  Col- 
onel Parker  cried  out ;  "  why  should  I  write  to  Eden  1 
Why  suffer  so  much  delay?  Have  I  not  boats  fitted 
out  and  sufficiently  armed  and  manned  with  brave  fel- 
lows to  face  all  the  pirates  of  North  Carolina  if  need 
be  I  Nay;  I  will  go  down  thither  and  inquire  into 
this  report  myself  without  losing  time,  and  without 
asking  Grovernor  Eden  to  do  it  for  me." 

This,  as  was  said,  was  on  Sunday  morning,  and 
Colonel  Parker  determined  that  the  expedition  should 
set  sail  for  North  Carolina  early  upon  the  morning 
of  the  following  day. 


332  JACK  BALLISTEK'S   FOKTUNES 

It  was  on  this  same  clay  that  the  news  was  first 
brought  to  Virginia  of  the  loss  of  the  French  bark. 
One  of  Colonel  Parker's  two  boats — the  sloop,  which 
was  at  that  time  under  command  of  an  ex-man-of-war 
boatswain,  known  at  Norfolk  as  "  Captain "  Blume  — 
one  of  Colonel  Parker's  two  boats  had  been  beating  up 
and  down  the  mouth  of  the  bay  for  several  days  past, 
hailing  incoming  or  outgoing  vessels  in  the  hope  of 
obtaining  some  news  concerning  the  young  lady.  It 
was  about  ten  o'clock  that  Sunday  morning,  when  the 
lookout  in  the  foretop  of  the  schooner  sighted  an  open 
boat  under  a  scrap  of  sail,  beating  wp  into  the  bay 
against  the  wind.  By  and  by  they  could  make  out 
with  the  glass  that  there  were  men  in  the  boat  waviug 
their  hats  and  something  white,  apparently  a  shirt  or 
a  shift,  at  the  end  of  an  oar.  When  the  sloop  ran 
down  to  the  boat  they  found  it  loaded  with  twenty 
men  and  two  women;  one  of  the  women  very  weak 
and  exhausted  from  exposure,  all  of  them  haggard  and 
famished. 

The  boat  was  one  of  those  belonging  to  the  French 
bark  that  the  pirates  had  taken,  and  it  had  been 
adrift,  now,  for  eleven  days,  having  been  parted  from 
the  others  at  sea  during  a  time  of  heavy  and  foggy 
weather. 

One  of  the  women  and  three  of  the  men  were  French ; 
all  the  others  were  English — the  remnant  of  the  crew  of 
the  English  bark  that  the  Frenchman  had  rescued 
from  the  water-logged  and  nearly  sinking  vessel. 

The  man  in  command  of  the  boat  had  been  the  mate 
of  the  English  bark,  and  the  story  he  told  when  he 
came  aboard  the  sloop  was  one  of  continued  mishaps 
and  misfortunes  that  had  followed  them  ever  since  they 
had  quitted  Plymouth  in  England  for  Charleston  in 
South  Carolina.  Two  days  out  from  England,  he  said, 
the  smaUpox  had  broken  out  aboard,  and  the  captain  had 


THE   BOAT   ADRIFT  333 

died  of  a  confluent  case.  Then,  while  the  crew  was  still 
short-handed  with  the  sickness,  a  storm  had  struck  them 
and  driven  them  far  out  of  their  course  to  the  south- 
ward. Then  the  vessel  had  sprung  a  leak  and  was 
actually  sinking  under  them  when  the  French  bark 
had  picked  them  up.  Then  the  Frenchman  had  been 
attacked  and  captured  by  the  pirates,  and  all  hands  had 
been  set  adrift  in  the  open  boats  with  only  three  days' 
provisions.  That,  as  was  said,  had  been  eleven  days 
before,  and  since  that  they  had  been  trying  in  vain  to 
make  the  Chesapeake  capes,  having  been  again  and 
again  driven  out  of  their  course  by  the  heavy  weather. 

It  is  strange  how  much  misfortune  will  sometimes 
follow  an  ill-fated  vessel,  one  mishap  succeeding  an- 
other without  any  ap23arent  cause  or  sequence.  The 
mate  said  with  a  sort  of  rueful  humor  that  he  would 
not  trust  even  yet  that  his  troubles  were  over,  nor  un- 
til he  felt  his  feet  on  dry  land  at  Norfolk.  He  said  that 
the  Englishwomen  and  six  of  the  Englishmen  were 
redemption  servants  who  had  been  shipped  from  Ply- 
mouth for  Charleston. 

After  having  heard  the  castaways'  story.  Captain 
Blume  thought  it  best  to  put  back  to  Norfolk  with  the 
rescued  crew.  He  reached  that  town  late  at  night  and 
reported  immediately  to  Lieutenant  Maynard,  who  was 
aboard  of  the  schooner  at  the  time,  making  ready  for  the 
departure  on  the  morrow.  The  lieutenant,  together 
with  Captain  Blume  and  the  shipwrecked  mate,  went 
ashore  and  to  Mr.  Chorley's  house,  where  Colonel  Par- 
ker still  lay. 

It  was  then  nearly  midnight,  and  as  it  was  too  late  to 
find  the  magistrate.  Colonel  Parker  gave  orders  that  the 
rescued  boat's  crew  should  be  transferred  to  the  schoo- 
ner —  it  being  the  larger  vessel  of  the  two  —  and  so  held 
until  the  morning.  They  could  then  be  turned  over  to 
the  proper  authorities  for  an  examination  under  oath, 


334  JACK   BALLISTER'S   FORTUNES 

and  the  bond-servants  deposited  in  some  place  of  safe- 
keeping until  they  could  be  duly  redeemed. 

Lieutenant  Maynard  himself  went  aboard  the  sloop 
with  Captain  Blume  to  see  that  the  transfer  of  the 
shipwrecked  crew  was  properly  made.  As  he  stood  by 
the  rail  while  the  men  were  being  mustered  a  man 
came  across  the  deck  and  directl}^  up  to  him.  He  was 
one  of  the  castaways,  and  when  he  came  near  enough 
for  the  light  of  the  lantern  to  fall  upon  him,  the  lieuten- 
ant could  see  that  he  was  a  little  man  with  a  lean,  dark 
face,  and  that  he  had  a  stringy,  black  beard  covering 
his  cheeks.  His  face  was  peppered  over  with  the  still 
purple  pits  of  recent  smallpox,  and  he  was  clad  in  a 
nondescript  costume  made  up  of  a  medley  of  borrowed 
raiment.  Mr.  Maynard  looked  the  little  man  over  as 
he  approached.  "  Well,  my  man,"  he  said,  "  and  what 
can  I  do  for  you ! " 

"  Sir,"  said  the  little  man,  "  I  ask  for  nothing  but  jus- 
tice." 

"You  go  forward  again,  Burton,"  said  the  mate  of 
the  rescued  boat;  "you  '11  have  plenty  of  chance  to 
talk  to  the  magistrate  to-morrow." 

"  Not  till  the  gentleman  hears  me ! "  cried  the  little 
man. 

"  What  do  you  want  ?  "  said  the  lieutenant.  "  What 
is  the  trouble V' 

"  Sir,  I  have  been  foully  dealt  with,"  said  the  little 
man.  "  I  am  a  lawyer ;  my  name  is  Roger  Burton.  I 
am  a  man  of  repute  and  was  held  in  respect  by  all  who 
knew  me  in  Southampton,  whence  I  came.  Sir,  I  was 
struck  upon  the  head  at  night  and  nearly  killed,  and 
while  I  lay  unconscious  I  was  kidnapped,  and  came  to 
myself  only  to  find  myself  aboard  of  a  vessel  bound  for 
the  Americas." 

"  He  was  one  of  a  lot  of  redemption  servants  brought 
aboard  at  Plymouth,"  said  the  mate.  "  He  appeared  to 
have  been  hui*t  in  a  drunken  brawl." 


i 


THE   BOAT   ADRIFT  335 

"  Sii',"  the  little  man  protested,  vehemently,  "  I  was 
never  so  drunk  as  that  in  all  my  life." 

"  Well,  I  am  sorry  for  you,  my  man,  if  what  you  say 
is  true,"  the  lieutenant  said,  "  but 't  is  none  of  my  busi- 
ness. Many  men  are  brought  hither  to  America  as  you 
say  you  have  been,  and  your  ease  is  not  any  worse  than 
theirs.  I  am  sorry  for  you,  but  the  affair  is  not  mine  to 
deal  with." 

"  What,  sir  ! "  cried  the  little  man,  "  and  is  that  all  the 
satisfaction  I  am  to  have  ?  Is  that  all  you,  one  of  his 
Majesty's  officers,  have  to  say  to  me  who  hold  the  posi- 
tion of  a  gentleman  f  Sir,  in  the  eyes  of  the  law,  I  have 
a  right  to  sign  myself  esquire,  as  you  have  the  right  to 
sign  yourself  lieutenant,  and  to  go  under  a  gentleman's 
title.  Am  I,  then,  to  be  put  off  so  when  I  do  but  ask 
for  justice  ? " 

"  You  may  sign  yourself  what  you  choose,"  said  the 
lieutenant ;  "  and  as  for  justice,  I  tell  you  't  is  none  of 
my  affairs.  I  am  not  a  magistrate,  I  am  an  officer  of 
the  navy.  You  are  a  lawyer,  you  say — well,  then,  you 
can  plead  your  own  case  when  you  get  ashore,  and  if 
you  have  justice  on  your  side,  why,  I  have  no  doubt 
but  that  you  will  obtain  it." 

"  Come,  now.  Burton,  you  go  forward  where  you  be- 
long," said  the  mate. 

The  little  man  gave  one  last  earnest  look  at  the  lieu- 
tenant. He  must  have  seen  that  it  was  of  no  use  to 
plead  his  case  further,  for  he  turned  and  walked  away 
with  his  head  hanging  down. 

"  How  many  of  those  poor  people  had  you  aboard  I  " 
the  lieutenant  asked. 

"  We  had  fifteen  in  all.  I  had  seven  with  me  in  the 
boat ;  six  men  and  one  woman.  All  the  others  but  two 
died  of  smallpox." 


CHAPTEE  XLII 


THE   NEXT   DAY 


JACK  was  awakened  at  the  first  dawn  of  day  by  the 
sea-gulls  clamoring  above  him.  Their  outcries 
mingled  for  a  little  while  with  his  dreams  before  he 
fairly  awoke.  He  found  himself  standing  up.  The  sun 
was  shining.  There  was  the  beach  and  the  sandy  dis- 
tance. Dred  came  walking  toward  him  up  from  the 
boat,  and  a  great  and  sudden  rush  of  joy  filled  his  heart. 
"  Why,  Dred,"  he  cried  out,  "I  thought  you  were  dead ! " 
Dred  burst  out  laughing.  "  I  was  only  fooling  you,  lad," 
he  said ;  "  I  were  n't  hurt  much  after  all."  Then  that 
terrible  tragedy  had  not  really  happened.  He  must 
have  dreamed  it.  Dred  had  not  been  shot,  and  he  had 
not  died.  The  sea-gulls  flew  above  their  heads  scream- 
ing, and  his  soul  was  full  of  the  joy  of  relief. 

Then  he  opened  his  eyes.  The  sun  had  not  jet 
arisen,  but  he  was  still  full  of  the  echo  of  joy,  believing 
that  Dred  was  alive,  after  all.  He  arose  and  stood  up. 
The  motionless  figure  was  lying  in  the  distance  just  as 
he  had  left  it  the  night  before. 

But,  after  all,  Dred  might  not  be  dead,  and  there  might 
be  some  truth  in  his  dream.  He  might  have  been  mis- 
taken last  night.  Perhaps  Dred  was  alive,  after  all,  and 
maybe  better  this  morning. 

He  went  over  to  where  the  silent  figure  lay,  and 
looked  down  into  the  strange,  still  face  —  upon  the  stiff, 
motionless  hands.    Yes;   Dred  was   dead.     As  Jack 


386 


THE  NEXT  DAY  337 

stood  looking  he  choked  and  choked,  and  one  hot  tear 
and  then  another  trickled  down  either  cheek.  They 
tasted  very  salt. 

Then  he  began  to  think.  What  was  he  to  do  now  ! 
Something  must  be  done,  and  he  must  do  it  himself, 
for  he  must  not  ask  the  young  lady  to  help  him.  He 
went  down  to  the  boat.  There  was  nothing  there  that 
he  could  use,  and  so  he  walked  off  some  distance  alone: 
the  beach.  At  last  he  found  a  barrel,  that  had  perhaps 
been  cast  up  by  a  storm,  and  which  now  lay  high  and 
dry  upon  the  warm,  powdered  sand  which  had  drifted 
around  it,  nearly  covering  it.  He  kicked  the  barrel  to 
pieces  with  his  heel,  and  pulled  up  two  of  the  staves 
from  the  deeper  layer  of  damp  sand  beneath.  He  had 
walked  some  distance  away,  and  now  he  turned  and 
went  back  to  where  the  still  figure  lay  motionless  in  the 
distance.  The  young  lady  had  not  yet  awakened,  and 
he  was  glad  of  it. 

He  was  trembling  when  he  had  ended  his  task.  Sud- 
denly, while  he  was  still  kneeling,  the  sun  arose,  throw- 
ing its  level  beams  of  light  across  the  stretch  of  sand, 
now  broken  and  trampled,  where  he  had  been  at  work. 
He  smoothed  over  the  work  he  had  made.  The  damper 
particles  stuck  to  his  hands  and  clothes,  and  he  brushed 
them  off.  Then  he  took  down  the  shelter  that  he  and 
the  young  lady  had  built  up  over  Dred's  head  the  day 
before,  carrying  the  oars  and  the  young  lady's  clothes 
down  to  the  boat.  Then  he  came  back  and  carried 
down  the  overcoats.  By  that  time  she  had  arisen. 
Jack  went  straight  up  to  her  where  she  stood  looking 
around  her.     "  Where  is  he  ? "  she  said. 

Jack  did  not  reply,  but  he  turned  his  face  in  the  di- 
rection. She  saw  where  the  smooth  surface  of  the  sand 
had  been  broken  and  disturbed,  and  she  understood. 
She  hid  her  face  in  her  hands  and  stood  for  a  moment, 

on  ' 


338  JACK   BALLISTEE'S   FOKTUNES 

and  Jack  stood  silently  beside  her.  "  Oh,"  she  said,  "  I 
was  dreaming  it  was  not  so." 

"  So  was  I,"  said  Jack,  brokenly,  and  again  he  felt  a 
tear  start  down  his  cheek. 

"  It  did  not  seem  to  me  as  if  it  could  be  so,"  she  said. 
"  It  don't  even  seem  now  as  though  it  were  so.  It  was 
all  so  dreadful.  It  does  n't  seem  as  though  it  could  have 
happened." 

"  Well,"  said  Jack,  heaving  a  convulsive  sigh,  "  we  '11 
have  to  have  something  to  eat,  and  then  we  '11  start  on 
again."  The  thought  of  eating  in  the  very  shadow  of 
the  tragedy  that  had  happened  seemed  very  grotesque, 
and  he  felt  somehow  ashamed  to  speak  of  it. 

"  Eat ! "  she  said.     "  I  do  not  want  to  eat  anything." 

"  We  '11  have  to  eat  something,"  said  Jack ;  "  we  can't 
do  without  that." 

The  task  of  pushing  the  yawl  off  into  the  water  was 
almost  more  than  Jack  could  accomplish.  For  a  while 
he  thought  they  would  have  to  wait  there  till  high  tide  in 
the  afternoon.  But  at  last,  by  digging  out  the  sand  from 
under  the  boat,  he  managed  to  get  it  off  into  the  water. 
"  I  '11  have  to  carry  you  aboard,  mistress,"  he  said. 

He  stooped  and  picked  her  up,  and  walked  with  her, 
splashing  through  the  shallow  sheet  of  water  that  ran 
up  with  each  spent  breaker  upon  the  shining  sand.  He 
placed  her  in  the  boat  and  then  pushed  it  off.  The 
breakers  were  not  high,  but  they  gave  the  boat  a  splash 
as  Jack  pulled  it  through  them. 

He  rowed  out  some  distance  from  the  shore,  and  she 
sat  silently  watching  him.  Then  he  unshipped  the  oars 
and  went  forward  and  raised  the  sail.  By  this  time  the 
morning  was  well  advanced.  The  breeze  had  not  yet 
arisen,  but  cat's-paws  began  to  ruffle  the  smooth  surface 
of  the  water.  Then  by  and  by  came  a  gentle  puff  of 
breeze  that  filled  out  the  sail,  and  swung  the  boom  out 


THE   NEXT   DAY  339 

over  the  water.  Jack  drew  in  the  sheet,  and  the  boat 
slid  forward  with  a  gurgle  of  water  under  the  bows. 
Then  the  breeze  began  blowing  very  lightly  and  gently. 

This  was  Sunday  morning. 

They  sailed  on  for  a  long,  long  distance  without  speak- 
ing. Both  sat  in  silence,  he  sunk  in  his  thoughts,  and 
she  in  hers.  He  was  trying  to  realize  all  that  had  hap- 
pened the  day  before,  but  he  could  hardly  do  so.  It  did 
not  seem  possible  that  such  things  could  have  actually 
happened  to  him.  He  wondered  what  she  was  think- 
ing about  —  Virginia,  perhaps.  Yes ;  that  must  be  it. 
And  he  was  going  back  to  Virginia,  too.  How  strange 
that  he  should  be  really  going  back  there  —  the  very 
place  from  which  he  had  escaped  two  months  before ! 
Was  there  ever  anybody  who  had  had  so  many  ad- 
ventures happen  to  him  in  six  months  as  he?  Then 
something  caused  him  suddenly  to  remember  how  he 
had  reached  out  the  evening  before,  and  had  touched 
Dred's  senseless  hand.  There  seemed  to  him  something 
singularly  pathetic  in  the  stillness  and  inertness  of  that 
unfeeling  hand.  Then  came  the  memory  of  the  silent 
face,  of  those  cold  lips  that  one  day  before  had  been  full 
of  life,  and  it  was  profoundly  dreadful.  He  shuddered 
darkly.  Was  this  always  the  end  of  everj'lhing? — of 
the  rushing  breeze,  the  dazzling  sunlight,  the  beautiful 
world  in  which  men  lived  ?  Death  is  terrible,  terrible 
to  the  eyes  of  youth. 

"  Do  you  know,"  said  the  young  lady,  suddenly,  break- 
ing upon  the  silence,  "  it  does  not  seem  possible  that  I 
am  really  to  see  my  father  again,  and  maybe  so  soon. 
I  'm  trying  to  feel  that  it  is  so,  but  I  can't.  I  wonder 
what  they  will  all  say  and  do  !  Oh,  it  seems  as  though 
I  could  n't  wait !  I  wonder  how  much  further  't  is  to 
Virginia  ?  " 

"I  don't  know,"  said  Jack;  "but  it  can't  be  much 
further.     I  've  been  thinking  that  those  sand-hills  on 


340  JACK  BALLISTEE'S  FOETUNES 

ahead  must  be  at  Cape  Henry.  I  only  saw  it  in  the  eve- 
ning when  I  was  on  Blackbeard's  sloop,  the  time  we 
were  bringing  you  down  to  Bath  Town ;  but  the  hills 
look  to  me  like  Cape  Henry.  And,  do  you  see,  the 
coast  runs  inward  there.  I  can't  tell,  though,  whether 
't  is  only  a  bend  in  the  shore,  or  whether  't  is  the  bay." 

"  My  father  will  never  forget  what  you  've  done,"  she 
said,  looking  straight  at  him. 

"Will  he  not?  "said  Jack. 

"  He  will  never  forget  it." 

Her  words  brought  a  quick  spasm  of  pleasure  to  Jack. 
He  had  not  thought  before  of  the  reward  he  should  re- 
ceive. Of  course  there  would  be  some  reward  —  some 
great  reward.  It  was  perhaps  then  that  he  first  real- 
ized what  a  thing  it  was  he  had  done  —  that  he  had 
brought  Colonel  Parker's  daughter  safe  away  from  the 
pirates,  through  the  very  jaws  of  death !  Yes ;  it  was  a 
great  thing  to  have  done ;  and  again  there  came  that 
spasm  of  delight.  The  future  had  suddenly  become 
very  bright.  It  seemed  now  to  throw  back  a  different 
light  upon  all  those  dreadful  things  that  had  passed, 
and  they  became  transformed  into  something  else. 
They  were  no  longer  gloomy  terrors — they  were  great 
events  leading  to  a  great  success. 

It  was  late  afternoon  when  they  slid  before  the  wind 
around  the  high  sand-hills  of  the  cape.  As  the  bay 
slowly  opened  before  them  they  saw  that  there  were 
three  sails  in  sight.  One  of  them,  far  away,  apparently 
a  schooner,  was  coming  down  the  bay  as  though  to  run 
out  around  the  cape  to  the  southward. 

"  See  that  boat ! "  cried  out  the  young  lady.  "  'T  is 
coming  this  way.  Don't  you  believe  we  could  stop  it, 
and  get  the  captain  to  take  us  back  to  Virginia  1 " 

"  I  don't  know,"  said  Jack ;  "  't  is  like  she  won't  stop 
for  me,  but  I  '11  try  it  if  you  'd  like  me  to." 


THE   NEXT   DAY  341 

He  put  down  the  helm  of  the  yawl  so  as  to  run  up 
across  the  course  upon  which  the  distant  vessel  seemed 
to  be  sailing.  They  watched  her  in  silence  as  slowly, 
little  by  little,  she  came  nearer  and  nearer.  "  I  ought 
to  have  something  to  wave,"  said  Jack,  "  to  make  her 
see  us.  I  don't  believe  she  '11  stop  for  us  unless  we 
signal  her  in  some  such  way." 

"Why  not  my  red  scarf?"  said  the  young  lady. 
"Stop,  I  '11  get  it  for  you." 

She  handed  the  bright  red  scarf  to  Jack,  who  tied  it 
to  the  end  of  an  oar.  The  schooner  was  now  some  three 
quarters  of  a  mile  away.  Jack  stood  up  in  the  boat, 
and  began  waving  the  scarf  at  the  end  of  the  blade, 
hallooing  as  he  did  so.  As  the  course  of  the  schooner 
was  laid,  she  would  run  past  them  about  half  a  mile 
distant.  "  I  don't  believe  she  's  going  to  stop  for  us, 
after  all,"  said  Jack.  "  Bear  the  tiller  a  little  to  the 
left.  That 's  as  it  should  be.  Now  hold  it  steady,  and 
I  '11  wave  again."  Then,  even  as  he  spoke,  he  saw  that 
those  aboard  the  schooner  were  hauling  in  the  foresail 
and  mainsail,  and  that  she  was  coming  about.  "  She 
is  going  to  stop  for  us!"  he  cried. 

The  schooner  had  gone  a  little  past  them  before 
her  sails  swung  over;  then,  sweeping  around  in  a 
great  semi-circle,  ,she  bore  down  upon  them,  bow  on. 
Jack  laid  down  the  oar,  and,  taking  the  tiller  again, 
brought  the  yawl  up  into  the  wind,  and  so  lay  wait- 
ing for  the  schooner  to  reach  them.  She  ran  to  within 
maybe  thirty  or  forty  yards  of  them,  and  then,  com- 
ing up  into  the  wind,  lay  rising  and  falling,  swinging 
slowly  back  and  forth  with  the  regular  heave  of  the 
ground-swell.  She  looked  very  near.  There  was  a 
group  of  faces  clustered  forward,  looking  out  at  them 
across  the  restless  water,  and  another  little  group  of 
three  men  and  a  woman  stood  at  the  open  gangway. 
A  large,  rough  man,  with  a  red  face  prickled  over  with 


342  JACK   BALLISTER'S   FORTUNES 

a  stubby  beard,  hailed  them.  He  wore  baggy  breeches 
tied  at  the  knees,  and  a  greasy  red  waistcoat.  "  Boat 
ahoy ! "  he  called  out.     "  What  boat  is  that  1 " 

Jack  was  standing  up  in  the  yawl.  "  We  've  come 
up  from  North  Carolina ! "  he  called  back  in  answer. 
"  We  've  just  escaped  from  the  pirates." 

"  Is  that  Miss  Eleanor  Parker  ? "  the  other  called  out 
instantly. 

"  Ay ! "  said  Jack. 

There  was  an  instant  commotion  aboard  the  schooner, 
and  the  captain  called  out:  "Bring  your  boat  over 
here ! " 

Jack  seated  himself  and  set  the  oars  into  the  row- 
locks. He  pulled  the  bow  of  the  boat  around  with  a 
few  quick  strokes,  and  then  rowed  toward  the  schooner. 
In  a  minute  or  so  he  was  close  alongside.  The  men 
and  the  woman  were  standing  on  the  deck  just  above, 
looking  down  at  him.  The  six  or  eight  men  of  the 
crew  were  also  standing  at  the  rail,  gazing  at  them. 
Jack  could  see  that  the  schooner  carried  as  a  cargo 
three  or  four  hogsheads  of  tobacco  and  a  great  load 
of  lumber. 

"  Was  it  you  brought  the  young  lady  away  ?  "  said 
the  captain  to  Jack.  "You  're  a  mightily  young  fellow 
to  do  that,  if  you  did  do  it." 

"I  did  n't  bring  her  off  my  own  self,"  said  Jack. 
"  One  of  the  pirates  helped  us  get  away.  But  Black- 
beard  came  up  with  us  at  Currituck  Inlet,  and  before 
we  could  get  away  the  man  who  helped  us  was  shot. 
He  died  last  night." 

"  So,  then  ! "  said  the  captain.  "Then  it  was  Black- 
beard,  arter  all,  who  carried  off  the  young  lady,  was 
it  ? "  Then  he  added,  "  Colonel  Parker  's  at  Norfolk 
now.  I  '11  run  back  with  you,  and  tow  the  yawl  into 
the  bargain,  if  the  young  lady  '11  guarantee  me  that 
her  father  '11  pay  me  five  pounds  for  doing  it." 


THE  NEXT  DAY  343 

"  Five  pounds ! "  cried  Jack.  "  Why,  that  is  a  deal 
of  money,  master,  for  such  a  little  thing." 

"  Well,  't  is  the  best  I  '11  do.  It  may  lose  me  three 
days  or  more,  and  I  won't  do  it  for  less." 

"  Oh,  it  does  not  matter,"  said  the  young  lady  to 
Jack,  in  a  low  voice.  "I  '11  promise  him  that  papa 
will  pay  him  five  pounds." 

Jack  felt  that  the  captain  was  taking  advantage  of 
her  probable  eagerness  to  return,  but  he  also  saw  that 
she  would  not  allow  him  to  bargain  at  such  a  time. 
"  She  says  her  father  will  pay  it,  master,"  he  said ; 
"  but 't  is  a  great  deal  of  money  to  make  her  promise." 

The  captain  of  the  schooner  did  not  reply  to  this  lat- 
ter part  of  Jack's  speech.  "Here,  Kitchen,"  he  said 
to  the  mate,  "help  her  ladyship  aboard.  Look  alive, 
now ! " 

The  mate  jumped  down  into  the  boat  (he  was  in 
his  bare  feet),  and  he  and  Jack  helped  the  young  lady 
to  the  deck  above.  Jack  followed  immediately  after 
her,  and  the  mate  remained,  busying  himself  in  mak- 
ing the  yawl-boat  fast. 

"  Here,  Molly,"  said  the  captain  to  the  woman,  who 
was  his  wife,  "  take  her  young  ladyship  into  my  cabin 
and  make  her  comfortable." 

Jack  was  standing,  looking  around  him  like  one  in 
a  dream.  The  crew  and  the  man  whom  the  captain 
afterward  called  Mr.  Jackson  (whom  Jack  took  to  be  a 
passenger)  stood  staring  at  him.  The  schooner  was  a 
common  coaster.  The  decks  were  littered  and  dirty; 
the  captain  and  the  crew  rough  and  ordinary. 

"  This  way,  master,"  said  the  captain ;  and  then  he, 
too,  went  down  into  the  cabin.  It  was  close  and  hot, 
and  smelled  musty  and  stuffy.  The  young  lady  was 
sitting  at  the  table,  while  the  woman,  the  captain's 
wife,  was  busy  in  the  inner  cabin  beyond.  She  had 
left  the  door  open,  and  Jack,  from  where  he  sat,  could 


344  JACK  BALLISTEK'S  FOKTUNES 

see  her  making  up  a  tumbled  bed  in  the  berth.  He 
could  also  see  a  sea-chest,  some  hanging  clothes,  a  map, 
and  a  clock  through  the  open  door.  The  schooner  was 
getting  under  way  again,  and  he  could  hear  the  pat 
of  bare  footsteps  passing  across  the  deck  overhead, 
the  creaking  of  the  yards,  and  then  the  ripple  and 
gurgle  of  the  water  alongside. 

"When  did  you  leave  Bath  Town?"  said  the 
captain. 

"  On  Wednesday  morning  early,"  said  Jack.  Now 
that  all  was  over,  he  was  feeling  very  dull  and 
heavily  oppressed  in  the  reaction  from  the  excitement 
that  had  kept  him  keyed  up  to  endure.  His  hands, 
from  which  the  skin  had  been  rubbed  by  rowing, 
had  begun  again  to  throb  and  burn  painfully ;  he  had 
not  noticed  before  how  great  was  the  smart.  He  looked 
at  them,  picking  at  the  loose  skin.  Nobody  cared  how 
much  his  hands  hurt  him,  now  that  Dred  was  gone, 
and  his  throat  began  choking  at  the  foolish  thought. 

"  Wednesdaj" !  Why,  't  is  only  Sunday  now.  D'  ye 
mean  to  say  that  ye  've  sailed  all  the  way  from  Bath 
Town  in  five  days  in  that  there  yawl-boat  ? " 

"Is  this  Sunday!"  said  Jack.     "Why,  so  't  is." 

"How  long  will  it  take  to  get  to  Norfolk?"  asked 
the  young  lady. 

"Well,  we  ought  to  get  there  by  midnight  if  this 
wind  holds,"  said  the  captain. 

"  The  berth  's  made  up  now  if  your  ladyship  'd  like 
to  lie  down,"  said  the  captain's  wife,  appearing  at  the 
door  of  the  inner  cabin. 

After  the  young  lady  had  gone,  the  captain  and  the 
man  named  Jackson  plied  Jack  with  questions  as  to 
all  that  had  happened.  He  answered  dully  and  inertly; 
he  wished  they  would  let  him  alone  and  not  tease  him 
with  questions.  "I  'm  tired,"  he  said,  at  last;  "I  'd 
like  to  lie  down  for  a  while." 


THE   NEXT   DAY 


345 


"  I  suppose  you  be  feeling  kind  of  used  up,  be  n't 
you?"  asked  the  man  Jackson. 

Jack  nodded  bis  head. 

"  Won't  you  have  a  bite  to  eat  first  ? "  asked  the 
captain. 

"I  'm  not  hungry,"  said  Jack;  "I  want  to  rest  — 
that  's  all." 

"  I  'm  going  to  let  you  have  the  mate's  cabin,"  said 
the  captain.  "  You  said  I  made  the  young  lady  prom- 
ise too  much  for  carrying  ye  back  to  Norfolk.  Well, 
I  'm  doing  all  I  can  to  make  you  comfortable.  I  give 
my  cabin  to  her,  and  I  give  the  mate's  cabin  to  you ; 
and  if  you  '11  only  wait  I  '11  have  a  good  hot  supper 
cooked." 

"Just  where  did  the  bullet  hit  him?"  asked  Jackson. 

"  I  don't  know  just  where,"  said  Jack.  "  Somewhere 
about  here  (indicating  the  spot  with  his  finger).  Can 
I  go  to  the  mate's  cabin  now  ?  " 

"  Well,  I  think  't  was  mortal  strange,"  said  Jackson, 
"  that  he  did  n't  fall  down  straight  away,  or  at  least 
drop  the  tiller,  or  something  of  the  sort.  He  just  sat 
there,  did  he  ? " 

The  mate  came  in,  still  in  his  bare  feet.  He  sat 
down  without  saying  anything,  and  stared  at  Jack. 

"  I  'm  going  to  let  him  have  your  berth  for  to-night, 
Kitchen,"  said  the  captain. 


CHAPTER   XLIII 


THE   EETUEN 


THE  breeze  had  fallen  during  the  night  so  that  it 
was  nearly  daylight  when  the  schooner  came  to 
anchor  off  Norfolk.  The  captain  sent  the  mate  directly 
to  carry  the  news  of  the  young  lady's  return  to  Colonel 
Parker's  schooner.  Colonel  Parker  himself  was  not  on 
board,  but  the  lieutenant  came  at  once  out  of  his  cabin, 
half  dressed  as  he  was,  and  the  mate  told  him  the 
news.  Mr.  Maynard  at  once  sent  word  ashore  to  Col- 
onel Parker,  and  then  had  himself  rowed  aboard  the 
schooner  on  which  the  young  lady  was. 

Within  an  hour  Colonel  Parker  came  off  from  the 
town.  The  first  man  he  met  when  he  stepped  aboard 
the  coaster  was  Lieutenant  Maynard.  "  Why,  Maynard, 
is  that  you  ? "  he  said,  and  Mr.  Maynard  had  never  seen 
him  so  overcome.  He  grasped  the  lieutenant's  hand 
and  wi'ung  it  and  wrung  it  again.  His  fine,  broad  face 
twitched  with  the  effort  he  made  to  suppress  his  emo- 
tions. "Where  is  she?"  he  said,  turning  around  al- 
most blindly  to  Captain  Dolls,  who,  with  his  mate,  had 
been  standing  at  a  little  distance  looking  on.  "  This 
way,  your  honor,"  said  the  captain  with  alacrity. 

He  led  the  way  across  the  deck  to  the  great  cabin ; 
Lieutenant  Maynard  did  not  accompany  them.  "  She  's 
in  my  cabin  here,  your  honor,"  said  the  captain.  "  I  let 
her  have  it,  for  't  was  the  best  aboard.  Her  ladyship 's 
asleep  yet,  I  do  suppose.    If  your  honor  '11  sit  down 


346 


THE  RETURN 


347 


here  I  '11  send  my  wife  into  the  cabin  to  wake  her  and 
to  help  her  dress." 

"  Never  mind,"  said  the  colonel,  "  where  is  she  —  in 
here  I "  He  opened  the  door  and  went  into  the  cabin. 
She  was  lying  upon  the  berth  sleeping.  She  had  only 
loosened  her  clothes  when  she  lay  down  the  night  be- 
fore, and  she  was  lying  fully  dressed.  "  Nelly ! "  said 
Colonel  Parker,  leaning  over  her,  "  Nelly ! "  She  did  not 
stir.  He  had  not  entirely  closed  the  door,  and  it  stood 
a  little  ajar.  Captain  Dolls,  in  the  great  cabin  beyond, 
stood  looking  in,  and  for  the  moment  Colonel  Parker 
did  not  notice  him.  "  Nelly ! "  he  said  again.  "  Nelly ! " 
and  he  laid  his  hand  upon  her  shoulder. 

She  stirred ;  she  raised  her  arm ;  she  drew  the  back 
of  her  hand  across  her  eyes ;  she  opened  her  eyes  and 
they  looked  directly  into  his  face  as  he  leaned  over  her. 
"  What  is  it  ? "  she  said,  vacantly. 

Colonel  Parker  was  crying.  "  'T  is  I  —  't  is  thy  poor 
father,  Nelly."  The  tears  were  trickling  down  his 
cheeks,  but  he  did  not  notice  them.  Suddenly  her 
vacancy  melted  and  dissolved,  and  she  was  wide  awake. 
"  Papa !  0  papa ! "  she  cried,  and  instantly  her  arms 
were  about  his  neck  and  she  was  in  his  arms. 

She  cried  and  cried.  Colonel  Parker,  still  holding 
her  with  one  arm,  reached  in  his  pocket  and  drew  out 
his  handkerchief  and  wiped  his  eyes  and  his  cheeks. 
As  he  did  so  he  caught  sight  of  Captain  Dolls  standing 
without  in  the  great  cabin  looking  in  at  them.  The 
captain  moved  instantly  away,  but  Colonel  Parker 
reached  out  and  closed  the  door. 

Presently  she  looked  up  into  his  face,  her  own  face 
wet  with  tears.  "  Mamma,"  she  said,  —  "  how  is  poor 
mamma ! " 

"  She  is  well  —  she  is  very  well,"  he  said.  "  My  dear ! 
my  dear ! " 

Once  more  she  flung  her  arms  about  his  neck.    She 


'.V 


348  JACK   BALLISTER'S   FORTUNES 

pressed  her  lips  to  his  again  and  again,  weeping  tumult- 
uonsly  as  she  did  so.  "  0  papa,  if  you  only  knew  what 
I  've  been  through ! " 

"  I  know  —  I  know,"  he  said. 

"  Oh,  but  you  can't  know  all  that  I  've  been  through 
—  all  the  dreadful,  terrible  things.  They  shot  poor 
Mr.  Dred,  and  he  died.  I  saw  them  shoot  him, —  I  was 
in  the  boat, —  I  saw  him  die.  Oh,  papa!  I  can't  tell 
you  all.  Oh,  it  was  so  terrible.  He  lay  on  the  sand 
and  died.  There  was  sand  on  the  side  of  his  face,  and 
the  young  man.  Jack,  did  not  see  it  to  brush  it  off,  and 
I  could  not  do  it,  and  there  it  was." 

"There!  there!"  said  Colonel  Parker,  soothingly. 
"Don't  talk  about  it,  my  dear.  Tell  me  about  other 
things.  The  sailor  who  came  to  bring  me  off  told  me 
there  was  a  young  man  —  a  lad  —  with  you  when  they 
picked  you  up  down  at  the  capes." 

"  Yes,"  she  said,  "  that  was  late  yesterday  afternoon." 

"  But  the  young  man ;  is  he  the  young  man  you  call 
Jack  I" 

"Yes,  that  is  he." 

"  He  is  aboard  here  now,  is  he  not  1    Who  is  he  !  " 

So  they  talked  together  for  a  long  time.  She  had 
lain  down  again,  and  she  held  his  hand  in  hers  as  he 
sat  upon  the  edge  of  the  berth  beside  her.  As  they 
talked  she  stroked  the  back  of  his  hand,  and  once  she 
raised  it  to  her  lips  and  kissed  it. 

A  while  later  Jack  was  awakened  from  a  sound  sleep 
by  some  one  shaking  him.  He  opened  his  eyes  and  saw 
that  a  rough,  red  face  was  bending  over  just  above  him. 
In  the  first  instant  of  waking  he  could  not  remember 
where  he  was,  or  what  face  it  was  looking  down  at 
him.  Then  he  recognized  Captain  Dolls.  He  was,  first 
of  all,  conscious  of  a  throbbing,  beating  pain  in  the 
palms  of  his  hands.  It  seemed  to  him  that  he  had  been 
feeling  it  all  night. 


'colonel    PARKER    REACHED    AND    LAID    HIS    HAND    UPON    JACK'S 
SHOULDER.      'AY,'   SAID    HE,    "T    IS   A    GOOD    HONEST    PACE.'" 


^^ 


THE   KETUEN  349 

"  What  is  it  ?  "  he  said.     "  What  do  you  want  ?  " 

"  Well,"  said  Captain  Dolls,  "  we  're  at  Norfolk,  and 
have  been  here  for  three  hours  and  more." 

"Norfolk!"  said  Jack,  vaguely.  "Are  we,  then,  at 
Norfolk  ?  How  came  we  there  I  "  His  mind  was  still 
clouded  with  the  fumes  of  sleep. 

Captain  Dolls  burst  out  laughing.  "We  got  there 
by  sailing,"  he  said.  "How  else!  But  come!  get  up! 
Colonel  Parker  's  aboard,  and  he  wants  to  see  you. 
He  's  out  in  the  great  cabin  now." 

Then  Jack  was  instantly  wide  awake.  "  Very  well," 
he  said,  "  then  I  '11  go  to  him  directly.  Have  you  a 
bucket  of  water  here  that  I  may  wash  myself  ?  I  'm 
not  fit  to  go  as  I  am." 

He  stood  lingering  for  a  moment  before  he  entered 
the  cabin.  He  could  hear  Colonel  Parker's  voice  within, 
and  he  shrank  from  entering,  with  a  sudden  trepidation. 

"  Go  on,"  said  Captain  Dolls,  who  had  followed  him. 
"  What  d'  ye  stop  for  ?  "  Then  Jack  opened  the  door 
and  went  in. 

Some  one  rose  as  he  entered ;  it  was  Colonel  Parker. 
In  a  swift  look  Jack  saw  that  the  young  lady  had  been 
sitting  beside  her  father.  She  had  been  holding  her 
father's  hand,  and  she  released  it  as  he  arose.  Captain 
Doll's  wife  was  also  in  the  cabin  busily  packing  the 
young  lady's  clothes  ready  for  her  departure.  Jack 
knew  that  Eleanor  Parker  was  looking  at  him,  and  he 
also  saw  in  the  glance  that  she  had  been  crying.  Col- 
onel Parker  was  gazing  at  him  also.  "Was  it,  then,  one 
so  young  as  you,"  he  said,  "who  would  dare  to  bring  my 
Nelly  away  from  the  villains!  Come  hither,"  and  as 
Jack  came  lingeringly  forward  Colonel  Parker  reached 
out  and  laid  a  hand  upon  his  shoulder,  holding  it 
fii'mly.  He  looked  long  and  steadily  at  Jack's  face. 
"  Ay,"  said  he,  "  't  is  a  good,  honest  face."  Jack  was 
very  conscious  of  the  presence  of  the  captain's  wife, 


350  JACK  ballistee's  foktunes 

and  it  made  him  feel  more  embarrassed  than  he  would 
otherwise  perhaps  have  been.  He  could  not  look  up. 
"  Ay,"  said  Colonel  Parker  again,  "  't  is  a  good,  honest 
face,  and  the  face  of  an  honest  young  man.  I  am  glad 
't  was  such  a  good,  honest  soul  that  brought  our  Nelly 
back  to  us.  We  shall  never,  never  forget  what  you 
have  done  —  never  forget  it." 

His  mood  was  still  very  warm  with  the  emotions  that 
had  melted  him.  "And  that  other  preserver,"  he  said, 
"  that  other  noble  preserver  who  gave  his  life  that  he 
might  save  my  girl ;  never  can  I  forget  him.  But  he  is 
beyond  anything  that  I  can  do  to  reward  him  and  to 
bless  him  now.  I  would  that  he  were  here,  that  I  might 
show  him,  as  I  shall  show  you,  that  we  shall  never  forget 
what  you  have  done  for  us  —  never  forget  it."  In  his 
softened  mood,  still  holding  Jack  by  the  shoulder,  he 
drew  out  his  handkerchief  and  wiped  his  eyes  and  his 
face.  Jack,  knowing  that  there  were  tears  running 
down  from  the  great  man's  eyes,  had  not  dared  to  look 
up  into  his  face,  but  it  suddenly  came  into  his  mind  to 
remember  how  it  was  Dred  who  had  shot  and  killed  this 
man's  only  son. 

"  Well,"  said  Colonel  Parker,  "  we  are  just  making 
ready  to  leave  this  and  to  go  aboard  of  my  own  vessel, 
and  so  back  to  Marlborough.  If  you  have  anything  to 
get  ready  you  had  better  do  so,  for  of  course  you  go 
along  with  us." 

"  I  have  nothing  to  get  ready,"  said  Jack.  "  There 
were  two  overcoats  we  brought  with  us, — they  belong  to 
Captain  Teach,— but  I  left  them  in  the  yawl  last  night." 

"What  does  your  ladyship  intend  doing  with  this 
petticoat  ? "  said  the  captain's  wife,  holding  up  a  mud- 
stained  skirt.  "  Shall  I  bundle  this  up  with  the  others  ? " 

"  No,"  said  the  young  lady,  "  you  need  not  do  so,  for 
I  sha'  n't  need  that  any  longer.  Do  you  know,  papa," 
she  said,  "  that  was  a  part  of  the  clothes  I  wore  when  I 


THE  KETURN  351 

tried  to  run  away  by  myself  down  in  North  Carolina, 
and  ran  into  the  swamp.  'T  is  the  mud  from  the  swamp 
that  stains  it  so." 

Jack  had  sat  down  on  the  bench  opposite  to  Colo- 
nel Parker  and  the  yonng  lady.  Every  moment  he 
was  growing  happier  and  happier.  He  had  an  indefi- 
nable feeling  that  some  great  good  was  coming  to  him. 
His  hands  hurt  him  very  much.  He  awoke  from  his 
golden  thoughts  to  hear  Colonel  Parker  saying  to  his 
daughter,  "  And  now,  my  dear,  if  you  are  quite  ready, 
we  will  go." 

Lieutenant  Maynard  stood  waiting  at  the  open  gang- 
way as  the  three  came  up  out  of  the  cabin.  He  took  off 
his  hat  as  the  young  lady  approached. 

"  This  is  my  daughter,  Lieutenant  Maynard,"  said 
Colonel  Parker.  And  the  lieutenant  bowed  low  to  her 
with  a  fine  air,  to  which  she  replied  with  as  fine  a  cour- 
tesy. "  And  this,"  said  Colonel  Parker,  "  is  the  young 
man  who  brought  her  back  —  a  fine,  noble  fellow,  and 
a  good,  honest,  comely  lad,  too." 

"  Why,  then,"  said  the  lieutenant,  "  I  shall  ask  you  to 
let  me  take  your  hand.  Give  me  your  hand."  Jack 
reached  out  his  throbbing  palm  to  the  lieutenant,  who 
took  the  hand  and  shook  it  firmly.  "  By  zounds  !  you 
are  a  hero,"  he  said.  "  See,  sir,"  —  to  Colonel  Parker 
— "  that  is  the  boat  they  escaped  in  —  such  a  little 
open  boat  as  that  to  come  all  the  way  from  Bath  Town 
and  through  a  storm,  they  tell  me,  in  the  lower  sound. 
We  are  going  to  tow  it  over  to  the  schooner." 

He  pointed  down  at  the  yawl  as  it  lay  alongside, 
fastened  to  the  other  boat  by  the  bow-line.  Colonel 
Parker  looked  down  into  the  empty  boat.  There  was 
the  stain  of  blood  still  upon  the  seat  where  Dred  had 
sat  when  he  was  shot.  The  very  emptiness  of  the  boat 
as  it  lay  there  seemed  to  speak  all  the  more  vividly  of 
the  tragedy  that  had  been  enacted  in  it. 


352  JACK   B^ajLISTEK'S   FORTUNES 

As  they  left  the  coaster,  Jack  sat  in  the  stern  of  the 
boat  not  far  from  Colonel  Parker  and  the  young  lady. 
As  he  looked  back  he  could  see  the  figures  of  Captain 
Dolls  and  his  wife,  of  the  barefoot  mate  with  his  knit 
cap,  and  of  Mr.  Jackson  standing  at  the  gangway.  The 
yawl  was  towing  behind  them.  His  smarting  palms 
throbbed  and  burned  in  pulsations  of  pain,  and  he 
looked  furtively  down  into  one  of  his  hands. 

"  Why,  what  is  the  matter  with  your  hand,  my  lad  ?  " 
Colonel  Parker  asked,  suddenly. 

Jack  blushed  red  and  shut  his  fist  tight.  "  I  flayed 
them  rowing,  your  honor,"  he  said. 

"  While  you  were  helping  Nelly  away  ?  " 

"  Yes,  your  honor." 

"  Let  me  see  your  hand." 

Jack  held  it  out  reluctantly,  conscious  of  the  rough 
knuckles  and  nails,  and  Colonel  Parker  took  it  into 
his  soft,  white  grasp.  "  Why,"  he  exclaimed,  "  what  a 
dreadful,  terrible  sore  hand  is  this  !  Let  me  see  t'  other. 
And  did  you  suffer  this  in  helping  Nelly  get  away? 
Look,  lieutenant,  at  the  poor  boy's  hands.  They  must 
be  salved  and  dressed  as  soon  as  we  get  him  aboard 
the  schooner." 

"  Let  me  see,  my  lad,"  said  the  lieutenant. 


CHAPTER  XLIV 


RISING   FORTUNES 


PERHAPS  there  was  no  period  of  the  attorney  Bur- 
ton's misfortunes  more  bitter  to  him  than  when 
he  stood  that  morning  upon  the  deck  of  Colonel  Par- 
ker's schooner,  and  saw  the  town  almost  within  hand's 
reach,  and  yet  felt  himself  so  helpless,  so  utterly  power- 
less to  escape. 

All  hands  were  talking  about  Colonel  Parker's  daugh- 
ter, and  how  she  had  been  brought  back  from  the  f)i- 
rates,  and  by  and  by  an  interest  in  what  he  heard  be- 
gan to  work  its  way  into  his  consciousness  in  spite  of 
the  misfortunes  that  overhung  him.  So  it  was  that, 
when  he  saw  the  boat  coming  toward  the  schooner,  he 
went  over  to  the  rail  and  stood  with  the  others  gathered 
there  looking  out  as  it  apjDroached.  He  saw  that  there 
were  several  people  sitting  in  the  stern-sheets, —  one  of 
them  the  young  lady, —  and  that  they  were  towing  an 
empty  boat  behind  them.  All  hands  aboard  the  schooner 
were  standing  at  the  rail  or  clinging  to  the  shrouds 
watching  their  approach,  and  from  where  the  little  at- 
torney stood  he  could  see  that  the  surgeon  and  the 
sailing-master  and  the  shipwi*ecked  mate  were  at  the 
gangway  waiting  for  them. 

He  at  once  singled  out  the  pirate  who  had  rescued 
the  young  lady — the  young  man  with  the  long,  shaggy 
hair  and  rough,  half-sailor  clothes.  He  seemed  to  the 
.attorney  Burton  to  be  singularly  young  for  a  pirate, 


23  353 


354  JACK  BALLISTEK'S   FOKTUNES 

with  a  round,  smooth,  boyish  face.  Presently  the  boat 
was  close  under  the  side  of  the  schooner,  and  the  next 
moment  the  crew  had  unshipped  their  oars  with  a  loud 
and  noisy  clatter.  The  lieutenant  leaned  out  astern 
and  stopped  the  yawl  as  it  slid  i)ast  with  the  impetus 
of  its  motion,  and  then  it  also  fell  around  broadside  to 
the  schooner. 

Then  they  began  to  come  aboard,  first  the  lieutenant, 
then  Colonel  Parker,  then  the  young  lady.  At  that 
instant  the  young  pirate  looked  up,  and  the  attorney 
looked  full  into  his  face.  If  a  thunderbolt  had  fallen 
and  burst  at  the  little  lawyer's  feet,  he  could  not  have 
been  more  amazed  than  he  was  to  see  the  face  of  Jack 
Ballister  looking  toward  him. 

It  is  such  wonderful  chance  meetings  as  this,  and  as 
that  other  time  when  Jack  met  Dred  at  Bullock's  Land- 
ing, that  teach  us  how  little  is  this  little  world  of  ours, 
and  how  great  is  the  fatality  that  drifts  men  apart  and 
then  drifts  them  together  again. 

The  next  moment  Jack  also  had  climbed  aboard,  and 
had  gone  into  the  cabin  with  the  others.  "  You  must 
look  at  the  poor  lad's  hands  before  you  do  anything 
else,  doctor,"  Colonel  Parker  was  saying  to  the  physician 
who  accompanied  them. 

Jack  was  still  filled  full  of  warm  happiness  as  he  sat 
there  in  the  fine  cabin,  watching  Dr.  Poor  as  the  sur- 
geon dressed  his  hands,  winding  the  clean  white  linen 
bandage  around  one  of  them.  The  dressing  felt  very 
soothing  and  cool.  Colonel  Parker  and  the  young  lady 
and  Lieutenant  Maynard  sat  opposite  to  him  across  the 
table.  Colonel  Parker  asking  him  many  things  about 
the  circumstances  of  their  escape.  Jack  had  been  tell- 
ing what  he  knew  concerning  the  young  lady's  abduc- 
tion. "And  were  you  with  the  pirates,  then,  when 
they  took  Nelly  away  ? "  said  Colonel  Parker. 

The  surgeon  was  trimming  away  the  rough  edges  of 


RISING   FOETUNES  355 

skin  from  the  palm  of  Jack's  other  hand,  and  Jack 
looked  down  at  the  skilful  touches  upon  the  sore  and 
tender  place.  "I  did  n't  go  with  them  over  to  the 
house,  if  you  mean  that,  your  honor.  I  stayed  aboard 
of  the  boat  while  they  went.  There  was  a  watch  of  half 
a  dozen  left  aboard,  and  I  was  with  them.  The  others 
went  off  in  three  boats ;  the  yawl  was  one  of  them.  It 
was  the  biggest  of  the  three,  and  Blackbeard  went  in  it. 
I  had  only  just  come  aboard,  and  I  don't  think  they 
would  have  chosen  me  to  go  with  them  upon  such  an 
expedition.  I  had  just  run  away  from  Mr.  Parker's 
then,  and  that  was  my  first  day  with  them." 

"  Why,  then,  I  am  glad  of  that,"  said  Colonel  Parker. 
"  I  am  glad  you  were  not  with  them  in  such  an  unlovely 
business  as  attacking  a  defenseless  houseful  of  women. 
But  I  don't  see  how  they  could  dare  to  do  such  a  thing. 
There  must  have  been  some  one  set  the  villains  on  to 
do  it.  Did  you  hear  whether  there  was  any  one  else 
concerned  in  it  —  instigating  them  to  the  outrage  ? " 

Jack  had  heard  enough  talk  in  Blackbeard's  house  to 
feel  sure  that  Mr.  Richard  Parker  had  been  the  prime 
mover  in  the  outrage,  but  he  did  not  dare  to  tell  Colonel 
Parker  about  it.  "  I  don't  know,"  said  he ;  "  but  they  're 
very  desperate  villains,  your  honor,  and  that  's  the 
truth.  You  don't  think  what  desperate  villains  they 
are  when  you  are  with  them,  for  they  talk  and  act  just 
like  other  men.  But  I  do  believe  that  there  's  nothing 
they  would  stop  at.     They  are  very  desperate  villains." 

Colonel  Parker  was  looking  intently  at  him  as  he 
si)oke.  "  You  speak  mightily  good  language,"  he  said ; 
"  are  you  educated  ?  " 

Jack  blushed  red.  "  Yes,  your  honor,"  he  said ;  "  my 
father  taught  me.  He  was  a  clergjTuan,  and  a  great 
scholar,  I  've  heard  say." 

Colonel  Parker  appeared  very  much  interested.  "  In- 
deed ! "  he  said,  "  is  that  the  case  ?     Why,  then,  I  am 


356  JACK  BALLISTER'S  FORTUNES 

very  glad  to  hear  it.  Your  being  a  gentleman's  son 
makes  it  easier  for  me  to  do  all  that  I  want  to  do  for 
you.     But  you  were  kidnapped,  you  say  f  " 

"  Yes,  sir,"  said  Jack. 

Suddenly  the  surgeon  clipped  the  thread  of  the 
second  bandage.  "There,  you  are  as  well  as  I  can 
make  you  now,"  he  said. 

"And  indeed  they  feel  mightily  comfortable,"  said 
Jack,  opening  and  shutting  his  hand  ;  "  and  I  thank  you 
kindly  for  the  ease  you  have  given  me." 

"Now  go  and  dress  yourself,  ready  for  breakfast," 
said  Colonel  Parker.  "  My  man  Robin  hath  set  out  some 
clothes  for  you  in  the  lieutenant's  cabin." 

Colonel  Parker's  body-servant  Robin  was  just  com- 
ing out  of  the  lieutenant's  cabin  when  Jack  entered. 
"  You  '11  find  everything  you  want  in  there,  I  do  sup- 
pose," he  said.  "  If  you  don't  you  may  call  me.  I  '11 
be  just  outside  here." 

He  had  laid  the  clothes  upon  the  lieutenant's  berth. 
He  closed  the  door  as  he  went  away,  and  Jack  stood 
looking  about  him.  It  was  all  very  clean  and  neat.  It 
was  the  cabin  that  Miss  Eleanor  Parker  generally  used 
when  she  was  aboard  the  schooner.  A  cool,  fresh  smell 
pervaded  it.  He  laid  his  clothes  aside,  and  sat  down 
upon  the  edge  of  the  berth,  and  then,  presently,  lay  down 
at  length  upon  its  clean  surface.  As  he  lay  there 
resting  he  was  very,  very  happy.  He  went  over  in 
his  mind  all  that  had  passed  that  morning.  How 
beautiful  it  all  was  !  How  kind  was  Colonel  Parker ! 
Yes ;  he  was  reaping  his  reward.  He  lay  there  for  a 
long  time,  yielding  himself  to  his  j^leasaut  thoughts. 
Everything  seemed  very  bright  and  hoj^eful.  His 
hands  felt  so  comfortable.  He  lifted  them  and  looked 
at  the  bandages :  how  white  and  clean  they  were,  how 
neatly  they  were  stitched !  He  could  smell  the  salve, 
and  it  seemed  to  have  a  very  pleasant  savor  in  the 


RISING  FORTUNES  357 

odor.  He  was  glad  now  that  Colonel  Parker  had  seen 
Ms  hands,  and  that  they  had  looked  so  terribly  sore. 
At  last  he  roused  himself,  and  looked  at  the  clothes 
that  had  been  laid  out  for  him,  turning  them  over 
and  feeling  them.  They  were  of  fine  brown  cloth,  and 
there  was  a  pair  of  white  stockings.  "I  wish  I  had 
something  to  rub  up  my  shoes  a  trifle,"  he  thought; 
"they  look  mightily  rusty  and  ugly." 

Then  he  got  up  and  began  dressing,  only  to  stop  in 
the  midst  of  it  and  to  lie  down  once  more  to  build  those 
bright  castles  in  the  air.  How  fine  it  would  be  to  live 
at  Marlborough,  not  as  a  servant,  but  as  one  of  the 
household  !  And  now  such  good  fortune  was  really  his 
own.  He  lay  there  for  a  long,  long  time  until,  sud- 
denly, the  door  was  opened,  and  Colonel  Parker's  serv- 
ant looked  in.  Jack  sprang  up  from  where  he  laj^  "  Not 
dressed  yet?"  said  the  man.  "Well,  then,  hurry  as  quick 
as  you  can.  His  honor  wants  you  out  in  his  own  cabin. 
There 's  somebody  aboard  here  knows  you,  and  he 's  been 
in  his  honor's  cabin  now  for  ten  minutes  or  more." 

"  Somebody  who  knows  me  ? "  said  Jack.  "  Why, 
who  can  that  be,  pray  ? " 

"  'T  is  a  lawyer,"  said  the  man — "  a  man  named  Bur- 
ton.    He  says  he  knew  you  in  Southampton." 

"  Master  Roger  Burton ! "  cried  Jack.  "  Why,  to  be 
sure  I  know  him.  Are  you  sure  that  is  who  't  is? 
Wliy,  how  does  he  come  aboard  here  ?  When  did  he 
come  to  America?" 

He  was  getting  dressed  rapidly  as  he  talked,  and  the 
servant  came  into  the  cabin  and  closed  the  door  after 
him.  "  As  to  coming  to  America,"  he  said,  "  he  came 
here  naturally  enough.  He  was  kidnapped  just  as  you 
and  me  were.  I  heard  him  tell  his  honor  the  lieutenant 
he  had  been  knocked  on  the  head  and  kidnapped." 

"  Knocked  on  the  head  and  kidnapped ! "  Jack  cried ; 
"  why,  that  was  just  what  happened  to  me." 


358  JACK   BALLISTER'S   FORTUNES 

"  Here,  let  me  hold  your  coat  for  you,"  said  Robin. 
He  held  it  up  as  Jack  slipped  his  arms  into  the  sleeves. 
"  There,  now  then,  you  come  straight  along,"  he  said, 
and  he  led  the  way  across  the  great  cabin  to  Colonel 
Parker's  own  private  cabin  beyond.  He  tapped  on 
the  door  and  then  opened  it. 

"Come  in,"  called  out  Colonel  Parker,  and  Jack 
entered. 

He  saw  the  attorney  Burton  immediately.  He  would 
not  have  recognized  him  if  he  had  not  known  whom 
he  was  to  see.  The  marks  of  the  smallpox,  the  rough 
clothes  he  wore,  and  the  thin,  stringy  beard  that  cov- 
ered his  cheeks  and  chin  made  him  look  like  altogether 
a  different  man.  Only  his  little  stature  and  his  long  nose 
fitted  with  the  memory  of  him  in  Jack's  mind.  He  stood 
for  a  while  gazing  at  the  little  man.  "  Why,  how  now. 
Master  Jack,"  said  the  attorney,  "  don't  you  know  me ! " 

"  Yes,  I  do,  now  that  you  speak,"  said  Jack,  "  but  to 
be  sure  I  would  n't  have  known  you  if  I  had  n't  been 
told  you  were  here." 

Colonel  Parker  was  lying  in  his  berth,  a  blanket 
spread  over  his  knees  and  feet.  Miss  Eleanor  Parker 
sat  on  the  edge  of  the  berth,  holding  his  hand,  and  the 
lieutenant  sat  opposite,  crowded  into  the  narrow  space. 
"  Come  hither,"  said  Colonel  Parker,  reaching  out  his 
hand,  and  as  Jack  came  toward  him  he  took  the  lad's 
bandaged  hand  into  his  own  and  held  it  firmly.  "  Why 
did  you  not  tell  me  who  you  were  ?  "  said  he. 

"I  don't  know  what  you  mean,  your  honor,"  said 
Jack. 

"  Don't  call  me  '  your  honor,' "  said  Colonel  Parker. 
"  Call  me  '  sir,'  or  else  '  Colonel  Parker.' " 

"  Yes,  sir,"  said  Jack,  blushing. 

"  What  I  mean,"  said  Colonel  Parker,  "  is  that  you 
did  not  tell  me  that  you  were  Sir  Henry  Ballister's 
nephew  and  a  young  gentleman  of  such  high  quality, 


RISING   FOETUNES  359 

nor  that  you  were  the  heir  of  any  such  fortune  as  I 
am  told  hath  been  left  to  you.  You  should  have  told 
me  all  this  at  once.  I  might  have  gone  on  for  a  long 
while  without  knowing,  had  this  good  man  not  told  me 
what  was  your  family  and  condition," 

"  I  don't  know,  sir,"  said  Jack,  awkwardly,  "  why  I 
did  n't  tell  you,  but  I  did  n't  think  to  do  it." 

Lieutenant  Maynard  burst  out  laughing,  and  even 
Colonel  Parker  smiled.  "Well,  well,"  he  said,  "family 
and  fortune  are  something  worth  while  to  talk  about, 
as  the  world  goes.  But  I  am  glad  that  I  shall  know 
what  to  do  for  you  now." 

Jack  looked  up  at  Miss  Eleanor  Parker,  and  saw  that 
she  was  gazing  straight  at  him.  She  smiled  brightly 
as  their  eyes  met. 

The  schooner  left  Norfolk  that  morning,  but  the 
breeze  was  very  light,  and  it  was  not  until  the  follow- 
ing day  that  they  reached  Marlborough. 

The  great  house  was  in  clear  sight  when  Jack  came 
up  on  deck  at  sunrise.  Colonel  Parker  and  Miss  Elea- 
nor were  standing  at  the  rail  gazing  out  toward  the 
house,  which  had  been  already  aroused  by  the  approach 
of  the  schooner.  People  were  hurrying  hither  and 
thither,  and  then  a  number  came  running  down  to  the 
landing  from  the  house  and  the  offices  and  the  cabins, 
until  a  crowd  had  gathered  at  the  end  of  the  wharf. 

"  Yonder  is  thy  mother,  Nelly,"  said  Colonel  Parker 
—  "  yonder  is  thy  mother,  my  dear."  He  spoke  with 
trembling  lips.  The  tears  were  running  down  the  young 
lady's  cheeks,  but  she  seemed  hardly  to  notice  them, 
and  she  was  not  crying.  She  wiped  her  eyes  and  her 
cheeks  with  her  handkerchief,  and  then  waved  it;  then 
wiped  her  eyes  again,  then  waved  it  again.  "  Yonder 
is  your  Uncle  Eichard  with  her,"  said  Colonel  Parker, 
and  he  also  wiped  his  eyes  as  he  spoke. 


360  JACK   BALLISTEE'S   FOETUNES 

Jack  could  see  his  former  master  standiug  close  to 
the  edge  of  the  wharf.  He  himself  stood  a  little  to 
one  side  with  the  Attorney  Burton,  who  had  also  come 
up  on  deck.  He  had  an  uncomfortable  feeling  of  not 
being  exactly  one  in  all  the  joy  of  this  home-bringing. 

A  boat  was  pulling  rapidly  off  from  the  shore,  and 
in  a  moment  the  anchor  fell  with  a  sjDlash.  They  were 
close  to  the  wharf,  and  almost  immediately  the  boat 
from  the  shore  was  alongside.  Everybody  was  cheer- 
ing, and  Jack  and  the  Attorney  Burton  stood  silently  in 
the  midst  of  it  all.  Suddenly  Colonel  Parker  tm'ued 
to  Jack,  wiping  the  tears  from  his  eyes.  "  Come,"  he 
said,  "you  must  go  along  with  us.  The  others  may 
follow  later." 

The  young  lady  did  not  see  him  or  seem  to  think 
of  him.  She  was  weeping  and  weeping,  clinging  to  the 
stays,  and  now  and  then  wiping  her  eyes.  The  crew 
helped  her  down  into  the  boat,  where  Colonel  Parker 
was  already  seated.  Jack  followed  after  her,  and  then 
the  men  pulled  away  toward  the  shore ;  in  a  moment 
they  were  at  the  wharf.  The  people,  black  and  white, 
were  crowded  above  them,  and  Madam  Parker  had 
struggled  so  close  to  the  edge  that  her  brother-in-law 
and  Mr.  Jones  were  holding  her  back.  She  was  crjdng 
convulsively  and  hysterically,  and  reaching  out  her 
hands  and  arms,  clutching  toward  her  daughter.  Jack 
sat,  looking  up  at  all  the  faces  staring  down  at  them. 
The  only  unmoved  one  among  them  all  upon  the  wharf 
was  Mr.  Richard  Parker.  He  stood,  calm  and  unruffled, 
with  hardly  a  change  of  expression  upon  his  handsome 
face.  The  next  moment  the  mother  and  daughter  were 
in  one  another's  arms,  weeping  and  crying;  and  then, 
a  moment  more,  and  Colonel  Parker  was  with  them, 
his  arms  around  them  both. 

Still  Mr.  Richard  Parker  stood  calmly  by;  only  now, 
when  Jack  looked,  he  saw  that  his  eyes  were  fastened 


EISING   FOETUNES  361 

steadily  upon  him — but  there  was  neither  surprise  nor 
interest  in  his  face.  Then  Jack,  too,  went  ashore. 
Colonel  Parker  saw  him.  "  My  dear,"  he  said  to  his 
wife  in  a  shaking  voice,  "  this  is  our  dear  Nelly's  pre- 
server —  the  young  hero  who  brought  her  back  to  us. 
Have  you  not  a  welcome  for  him  ? " 

Madam  Parker  looked  up,  her  eyes  streaming  with 
tears.  She  could  not  have  seen  Jack  through  them, 
and  Jack  stood,  overcome  and  abashed.  Through  it 
all  he  was  conscious  that  Mr.  Parker  was  still  looking 
steadily  at  him. 

"  Ay,  brother  Richard,"  said  Colonel  Parker,  wiping 
his  eyes,  "  you  know  him,  do  you  not  ?  Well,  't  is  to 
him  we  owe  it  that  our  Nellj^  hath  been  brought  back 
to  us  again,  for  't  was  he  who  brought  her." 

Then  Jack  looked  at  his  former  master  and  won- 
dered what  he  was  thinking ;  he  said  nothing. 


CHAPTER  XLV 


PEEPAEATION 


WE,  of  these  times,  protected  as  we  are  by  the 
laws  and  by  the  number  of  people  about  us,  can 
hardly  comprehend  such  a  life  as  that  of  the  American 
colonies  in  the  early  part  of  the  last  century,  when  it 
was  possible  for  a  pirate  like  Blackbeard  to  exist,  and 
for  the  governor  and  the  secretary  of  the  province  in 
which  he  lived  perhaps  to  share  his  plunder,  and  to 
shelter  and  to  protect  him  against  the  law. 

At  that  time  the  American  colonists  were  in  general 
a  rougli,  rugged  people,  knowing  nothing  of  the  finer 
things  of  life.  They  lived  mostly  in  little  settlements, 
separated  by  long  distances  from  one  another,  so  that 
they  could  neither  make  nor  enforce  laws  to  protect 
themselves.  Each  man  or  little  group  of  men  had  to 
depend  upon  his  or  their  own  strength  to  keep  what  be- 
longed to  them,  and  to  prevent  fierce  men  or  groups  of 
men  from  seizing  what  did  not  belong  to  them. 

It  is  the  natural  disposition  of  every  one  to  get  all 
that  he  can.  Little  children,  for  instance,  always  try  to 
take  away  from  others  that  which  they  want,  and  to 
keep  it  for  their  own.  It  is  only  by  constant  teaching 
that  they  learn  that  they  must  not  do  so ;  that  they 
must  not  take  by  force  what  does  not  belong  to  them. 
So  it  is  only  by  teaching  and  training  that  people 
learn  to  be  honest  and  not  to  take  what  is  not  theirs. 
When  this  teaching  is  not  sufficient  to  make  a  man 

362 


PREPAEATION  363 

learn  to  be  honest,  or  when  there  is  something  in  the 
man's  nature  that  makes  him  not  able  to  learn,  then  he 
only  lacks  the  opportunity  to  seize  upon  the  thiugs 
he  wants,  just  as  he  would  do  if  he  were  a  little  child. 

In  the  colonies  at  that  time,  as  was  just  said,  men 
were  too  few  and  scattered  to  protect  themselves 
against  those  who  had  made  up  their  minds  to  take  by 
force  that  which  they  wanted,  and  so  it  was  that  men 
lived  an  unrestrained  and  lawless  life,  such  as  we  of 
these  times  of  better  government  can  hardly  com- 
prehend. 

The  usual  means  of  commerce  between  province  and 
province  was  by  water  in  coasting  vessels.  These 
coasting  vessels  were  so  defenseless,  and  the  different 
colonial  governments  were  so  ill  able  to  protect  them, 
that  those  who  chose  to  rob  them  could  do  it  almost 
without  danger  to  themselves. 

So  it  was  that  all  the  western  world  was,  in  those 
days,  infested  with  armed  bands  of  cruising  freebooters 
or  pirates,  who  used  to  stop  merchant  vessels  and  take 
from  them  what  they  chose. 

Each  province  in  those  days  was  ruled  over  by  a  royal 
governor  appointed  by  the  king.  Each  governor,  at 
one  time,  was  free  to  do  almost  as  he  pleased  in  his  own 
province.  He  was  accountable  only  to  the  king  and 
his  government,  and  England  was  so  distant  that  he 
was  really  responsible  almost  to  nobody  but  himself. 

The  governors  were  naturally  just  as  desirous  to  get 
rich  quickly,  just  as  desirous  of  getting  all  that  they 
could  for  themselves,  as  was  anybody  else  —  only  they 
had  been  taught  and  had  been  able  to  learn  that  it  was 
not  right  to  be  an  actual  pirate  or  robber.  They  wanted 
to  be  rich  easily  and  quickly,  but  the  desire  was  not 
strong  enough  to  lead  them  to  dishonor  themselves  in 
their  own  opinion  and  in  the  opinion  of  others  by  grati- 
fying their  selfishness.    They  would  even  have  stopped 


364  JACK   BALLISTER'S   FORTUNES 

the  pirates  from  doing  what  they  did  if  they  could,  but 
their  j^rovincial  governments  were  too  weak  to  prevent 
the  freebooters  from  robbing  merchant  vessels,  or  to 
punish  them  when  they  came  ashore.  The  pro\inces 
had  no  navies,  and  they  really  had  no  armies;  neither 
were  there  enough  people  living  within  the  community 
to  enforce  the  laws  against  those  stronger  and  fiercer 
men  who  were  not  honest. 

After  the  things  the  pirates  seized  from  merchant 
vessels  were  once  stolen  they  were  altogether  lost. 
Almost  never  did  any  owner  apply  for  them,  for  it 
would  be  useless  to  do  so.  The  stolen  goods  and  mer- 
chandise lay  in  the  storehouses  of  the  pirates,  seemingly 
without  any  owner  excejjting  the  pirates  themselves. 

The  governors  and  the  secretaries  of  the  colonies 
would  not  dishonor  themselves  by  pirating  upon  mer- 
chant vessels,  but  it  did  not  seem  so  wicked  after  the 
goods  were  stolen  —  and  so  altogether  lost  —  to  take 
a  part  of  that  which  seemed  to  have  no  owner. 

A  child  is  taught  that  it  is  a  very  wicked  thing  to 
take,  for  instance,  by  force,  a  lump  of  sugar  from  another 
child;  but  when  a  wicked  child  has  seized  the  sugar 
from  another  and  taken  it  around  the  corner,  and  that 
other  child  from  whom  he  has  seized  it  has  gone  home 
crying,  it  does  not  seem  so  wicked  for  the  third  child  to 
take  a  bite  of  the  sugar  when  it  is  offered  to  him,  even 
if  he  thinks  it  has  been  taken  from  some  one  else. 

It  was  just  so,  no  doubt,  that  it  did  not  seem  so  wicked 
to  Governor  Eden  and  Secretary  Knight  of  North  Caro- 
lina, or  to  Governor  Fletcher  of  New  York,  or  to  other 
colonial  governors,  to  take  a  part  of  the  booty  that 
the  pirates,  such  as  Blackbeard,  had  stolen.  It  did  not 
even  seem  very  wicked  to  compel  such  pirates  to  give 
up  a  part  of  what  was  not  theirs,  and  which  seemed  to 
have  no  owner. 

In  Governor  Eden's  time,  however,  the  colonies  had 


PKEPAKATION  365 

begun  to  be  more  thickly  peopled,  and  the  laws  had 
graduall}^  become  stronger  and  stronger  to  protect  men 
in  the  possession  of  what  was  theirs.  Governor  Eden 
was  the  last  of  the  colonial  governors  who  had  dealings 
with  the  pirates,  and  Blackbeard  was  almost  the  last  of 
the  pirates  who,  with  his  banded  men,  was  savage  and 
powerful  enough  to  come  and  go  as  he  chose  among 
the  people  whom  he  plundered. 

Virginia,  at  that  time,  was  the  greatest  and  the  richest 
of  all  the  American  colonies,  and  upon  the  further  side  of 
North  Carolina  was  the  province  of  South  Carolina,  also 
strong  and  rich.  It  was  these  two  colonies  that  suffered 
the  most  from  Blackbeard,  and  it  began  to  be  that  the 
honest  men  that  lived  in  them  could  endure  no  longer 
to  be  plundered. 

The  merchants  and  traders  and  others  who  suffered 
cried  out  loudly  for  protection ;  so  loudly  that  the  gov- 
ernors of  these  provinces  could  not  help  hearing  them. 

Governor  Eden  was  petitioned  to  act  against  the  pi- 
rates ;  but  he  would  do  nothing,  for  he  felt  very  friendly 
toward  Blackbeard  —  just  as  a  child  who  has  had  a  taste 
of  the  stolen  sugar  feels  friendly  toward  the  child  who 
gives  it  to  him. 

At  last,  when  Blackbeard  sailed  up  into  the  very 
heart  of  Virginia,  and  seized  upon  and  carried  away 
the  daughter  of  that  colony's  foremost  people,  the  Gov- 
ernor of  Virginia,  finding  that  the  Governor  of  North 
Carolina  would  do  nothing  to  punish  the  outrage,  took 
the  matter  into  his  own  hands  and  issued  a  proclama- 
tion offering  a  reward  of  one  hundred  pounds  for  Black- 
beard, alive  or  dead,  and  different  sums  for  the  other 
pirates  who  were  his  followers. 

Governor  Spottiswood  had  the  right  to  issue  the 
proclamation,  but  he  had  no  right  to  commission  Lieu- 
tenant Maynard,  as  he  did,  to  take  down  an  armed 
force  into  the  neighboring  province  and  to  attack  the 


366  JACK   BALLISTER'S   FOETUNES 

pirates  in  the  waters  of  the  North  Carolina  sounds.  It 
was  all  a  part  of  the  rude  and  lawless  condition  of  the 
colonies  at  the  time  that  such  a  thing  could  have  been 
done. 

The  governor's  proclamation  against  the  pirates  was 
issued  upon  the  eleventh  day  of  November.  It  was 
read  in  the  churches  the  Sunday  following  and  was 
posted  upon  the  doors  of  all  the  government  custom 
offices  in  lower  Virginia.  Lieutenant  Maynard,  in  the 
boats  that  Colonel  Parker  had  already  fitted  out  to  go 
against  the  pirates,  set  sail  upon  the  seventeenth  of 
the  month  for  Ocracock.  Five  days  later  the  battle  was 
fought. 

Blackbeard's  sloop  was  lying  inside  of  Ocracock  Inlet 
among  the  shoals  and  sand-bars,  when  he  first  heard  of 
Governor  Sj^ottiswood's  proclamation. 

There  had  been  a  storm,  and  a  good  many  vessels  had 
run  into  the  inlet  for  shelter.  Blackbeard  knew  nearly 
all  of  the  captains  of  these  vessels,  and  it  was  from  them 
that  he  first  heard  of  the  proclamation. 

He  had  gone  aboard  one  of  the  vessels  —  a  coaster 
from  Boston.  The  wind  was  still  blowing  pretty  hard 
from  the  southeast.  There  were  maybe  a  dozen  vessels 
lying  within  the  inlet  at  that  time,  and  the  captain  of 
one  of  them  was  paying  the  Boston  skipper  a  visit 
when  Blackbeard  came  aboard.  The  two  captains  had 
been  talking  together.  They  instantly  ceased  when  the 
pirate  came  down  into  the  cabin,  but  he  had  heard 
enough  of  their  conversation  to  catch  its  drift.  "  Why 
d'  ye  stop  ?  "  he  said.  "  I  heard  what  you  said.  Well, 
what  then  1  D'  ye  think  I  mind  it  at  all  ?  Spottiswood 
is  going  to  send  his  bullies  down  here  after  me.  That 's 
what  you  were  saying.  Well,  what  then  ?  You  don't 
think  I  'm  afraid  of  his  bullies,  do  you  1 " 

"  Why,  no,  captain,  I  did  n't  say  you  was  afraid," 
said  the  visiting  captain. 


PEEPAEATION  367 

"And  what  right  has  he  got  to  send  down  here 
against  me  in  North  Carolina,  I  should  like  to  ask 
you  ? " 

"He 's  got  none  at  all,"  said  the  Boston  captain,  sooth- 
ingly.  "  Won't  you  take  a  taste  of  Hollands,  Captain  ? " 

"  He  's  no  more  right  to  come  blustering  down  here 
into  Governor  Eden's  pro\dnce  than  I  have  to  come 
aboard  of  your  schooner  here,  Tom  Burley,  and  to 
carry  off  two  or  three  kegs  of  this  prime  Hollands  for 
my  own  drinking." 

Captain  Burley  —  the  Boston  man  —  laughed  a  loud, 
forced  laugh.  "  Why,  captain,"  he  said,  "  as  for  two  or 
three  kegs  of  Hollands,  you  won't  find  that  aboard. 
But  if  you  'd  like  to  have  a  keg  of  it  for  your  own 
drinking,  I  '11  send  it  to  you  and  be  glad  enough  to  do 
so  for  old  acquaintance'  sake." 

"  But  I  tell  you  what 't  is,  captain,"  said  the  visiting 
skipper  to  Blackbeard,  "they  're  determined  and  set 
against  you  this  time.  I  tell  you,  captain.  Governor 
Spottiswood  hath  issued  a  hot  proclamation  against 
you,  and  't  hath  been  read  out  in  all  the  churches.  I 
myself  saw  it  posted  in  Yorktown  upon  the  Custom- 
House  door  and  read  it  there  myself.  The  governor 
offers  one  hundred  pounds  for  you,  and  fifty  pounds  for 
your  officers,  and  twenty  pounds  each  for  your  men." 

"  Well,  then,"  said  Blackbeard,  holding  u])  his  glass, 
"  here,  I  wish  'em  good  luck,  and  when  they  get  their 
hundred  pounds  for  me  they  '11  be  in  a  poor  way  to  spend 
it.  As  for  the  Hollands,"  said  he,  turning  to  Captain 
Burley,  "I  know  what  you  've  got  aboard  here  and  what 
you  have  n't.  D'  ye  suppose  ye  can  blind  me  ?  Very 
well,  you  send  over  two  kegs,  and  I  '11  let  you  go  with- 
out search."  The  two  ca^Dtains  were  very  silent.  "  As 
for  that  Lieutenant  Maynard  you  're  all  talking  about," 
said  Blackbeard,  "  why,  I  know  him  very  well.  He  was 
the  one  who  was  so  busy  with  the  pirates  down  Mada- 
gascar way.     I  believe  you  'd  all  like  to  see  him  blow 


368  JACK   BALLISTER's   FOETUNES 

me  out  of  the  water,  but  he  can't  do  it.  There  's  no- 
body in  his  Majesty's  service  I  'd  rather  meet  than 
Lieutenant  Maynard.  I  'd  teach  him  pretty  briskly 
that  North  Carolina  is  n't  Madagascar." 

On  the  evening  of  the  twenty-second  the  two  vessels 
under  command  of  Lieutenant  Maynard  came  into  the 
mouth  of  Ocracock  Inlet  and  there  dropped  anchor. 
Meantime  the  weather  had  cleared,  and  all  the  ves- 
sels but  one  had  gone  from  the  inlet.  The  one  ves- 
sel that  remained  was  a  New  Yorker.  It  had  been 
there  over  a  night  and  a  day,  and  the  captain  and 
Blackbeard  had  become  very  good  friends. 

The  same  night  that  Maynard  came  into  the  inlet,  a 
wedding  was  held  on  the  shore.  A  number  of  men  and 
women  came  up  the  beach  in  ox-carts  and  sledges ;  others 
had  come  in  boats  from  more  distant  points  and  across 
the  water. 

The  captain  of  the  New  Yorker  and  Blackbeard  went 
ashore  together  a  little  after  dark.  The  New  Yorker 
had  been  aboard  of  the  pirate's  sloop  for  aU  the  latter 
part  of  the  afternoon,  and  he  and  Blackbeard  had  been 
drinking  together  in  the  cabin.  The  New  York  man  was 
now  a  little  tipsy,  and  he  laughed  and  talked  foolishly 
as  he  and  Blackbeard  were  rowed  ashore.  The  pirate 
sat  grim  and  silent. 

It  was  nearly  dark  when  they  stepped  ashore  on  the 
beach.  The  New  York  captain  stumbled  and  fell  head- 
long, rolling  over  and  over,  and  the  crew  of  the  boat 
burst  out  laughing. 

The  people  had  already  begun  to  dance  in  an  open 
shed  fronting  upon  the  shore.  There  were  fires  of  pine- 
knots  in  front  of  the  building,  lighting  up  the  interior 
with  a  red  glare.  A  negro  was  playing  a  fiddle  some- 
where inside,  and  it  was  filled  with  a  crowd  of  grotesque 
dancing  figures — men  and  women.    Now  and  then  they 


PREPAKATION  369 

called  with  loud  voices  as  they  danced,  and  the  squeak- 
ing of  the  fiddle  sounded  incessantly  through  the  noise 
of  outcries  and  the  stamp  and  shuffling  of  feet. 

Captain  Teach  and  the  New  York  captain  stood  look- 
ing on.  The  New  York  man  had  tilted  himself  against 
a  post  and  stood  there  holding  one  arm  around  it,  sup- 
porting himself.  He  waved  the  other  hand  foolishly  in 
time  to  the  music,  now  and  then  snapping  his  thumb 
and  finger. 

The  young  woman  who  had  just  been  married  ap- 
proached the  two.  She  had  been  dancing,  and  she  was 
warm  and  red,  her  hair  blowsed  about  her  head.  "  Hi, 
captain,  won't  you  dance  with  me  ? "  she  said  to  Black- 
beard. 

Blackboard  stared  at  her.     "  Who  be  you  1 "  he  said. 

She  burst  out  laughing.  "  You  look  as  if  you  'd  eat  a 
body,"  she  cried. 

Blackboard's  face  gi*adually  relaxed.  "Why,  to  be 
sure,  you  're  a  brazen  one,  for  all  the  world,"  he  said. 
"  Well,  I  '11  dance  with  you,  that  I  will.  I  '11  dance  the 
heart  out  of  you." 

He  pushed  forward,  thrusting  aside  with  his  elbow 
the  newly-made  husband.  The  man,  who  saw  that 
Blackboard  had  been  drinking,  burst  out  laughing,  and 
the  other  men  and  women  who  had  been  standing 
around  drew  away,  so  that  in  a  little  while  the  floor  was 
pretty  well  cleared.  One  could  see  the  negro  now ;  he 
sat  on  a  barrel  at  the  end  of  the  room.  He  grinned  with 
his  white  teeth  and,  without  stopping  in  his  fiddling, 
scraped  his  bow  harshly  across  the  strings,  and  then  in- 
stantly changed  the  tune  to  a  lively  jig.  Blackboard 
jumped  up  into  the  air  and  clapped  his  heels  together, 
•giving,  as  he  did  so,  a  sharp,  short  yell.  Then  ho  began 
instantly  dancing  grotesquely  and  violently.  The 
woman  danced  opposite  to  him,  this  way  and  that,  with 
her  knuckles  on  her  hips.     Everybody  bm-st  out  laugh- 

24 


370  JACK  B.UJLISTEE'S   FOKTUXES 

ing  at  Blackbeard's  grotesque  antics.  They  laughed 
again  and  again,  clapjoing  their  hands,  and  the  negTO 
scraped  awaj^  on  his  fiddle  like  fury.  The  woman's 
hair  came  tumbling  down  her  back.  She  tucked  it 
back,  laughing  and  j)anting,  and  the  sweat  ran  down 
her  face.  She  danced  and  danced.  At  last  she  burst 
out  laughing  and  stopped,  panting.  Blackbeard  again 
jumped  up  in  the  air  and  clapped  his  heels.  Again  he 
yelled,  and  as  he  did  so,  he  struck  his  heels  ujDon  the 
floor  and  spun  around.  Once  more  everybody  burst 
out  laughing,  clapping  their  hands,  and  the  negro 
stopped  fiddling. 

Near  by  was  a  shanty  or  cabin  where  they  were  sell- 
ing spirits,  and  by  and  by  Blackbeard  went  there  with 
the  New  York  captain,  and  presently  they  began  drink- 
ing again.  "  Hi,  captain ! "  called  one  of  the  men,  "  May- 
nard  's  out  yonder  in  the  inlet.  Jack  Bishop  's  just 
come  across  from  t'  other  side.  He  says  Mr.  Mayuard 
hailed  him  and  asked  for  a  pilot  to  fetch  him  in." 

"  Well,  here  's  luck  to  him,  and  he  can't  come  in  quick 
enough  for  me ! "  cried  out  Blackbeard  in  his  hoarse, 
husky  voice. 

"  Well,  captain,"  called  a  voice,  "  will  ye  fight  him  to- 
morrow ? " 

"  Ay,"  shouted  the  pirate,  "  if  he  can  get  in  to  me,  I  '11 
try  to  give  'em  what  they  seek,  and  all  they  want  of  it 
into  the  bargain.  As  for  a  pilot,  I  tell  ye  what  't  is. 
If  any  man  hereabouts  goes  out  there  to  pilot  that  vil- 
lain in,  't  will  be  the  worst  day's  work  he  ever  did  in 
all  of  his  life.  'T  won't  be  fit  for  him  to  live  in  these 
parts  of  America  if  I  am  living  here  at  the  same  time." 
There  was  a  burst  of  laughter. 

"Grive  us  a  toast,  captain!     Give  us  something  to- 
drink  to !     Ay,  captain,  a   toast !     A   toast ! "  a   half 
dozen  voices  were  calling  out  at  the  same  time. 

"  Well,"  cried  out  the  pirate  captain,  "  here  's  to  a 


PEEPAEATION  371 

good,  hot  fight  to-morrow,  and  the  best  dog  on  top ! 
'T  will  be,  Bang !  bang !  —  this  way ! " 

He  began  pulling  a  pistol  out  of  his  pocket,  but  it 
stuck  in  the  lining,  and  he  struggled  and  tugged  at  it. 
The  men  ducked  and  scrambled  away  from  before  him, 
and  then  the  next  moment  he  had  the  pistol  out  of  his 
pocket.  He  swung  it  around  and  around.  There  was 
perfect  silence.  Suddenly  there  was  a  flash  and  a  stun- 
ning report,  and  instantly  a  crash  and  tinkle  of  broken 
glass.  One  of  the  men  cried  out,  and  began  picking 
and  jerking  at  the  back  of  his  neck.  "  He  's  broken 
that  bottle  all  down  my  neck,"  he  called  out. 

"  That 's  the  way  't  will  be,"  said  Blackbeard. 

"  Lookee,"  said  the  owner  of  the  place,  "  I  won't  serve 
out  another  drop  if  't  is  going  to  be  like  that.  If 
there  's  any  more  trouble  I  '11  blow  out  the  lantern." 

The  sound  of  the  squeaking  and  scraping  of  the  fiddle 
and  the  shouts  and  the  scuffling  feet  still  came  from  the 
shed  where  the  dancing  was  going  on. 

"  Suppose  you  get  your  dose  to-morrow,  captain," 
some  one  called  out,  "  what  then  ? " 

"  Why,  if  I  do,"  said  Blackbeard,  "  I  get  it,  and  that's 
all  there  is  of  it." 

"  Your  wife  '11  be  a  rich  widdy  then,  won't  she  ? " 
eried  one  of  the  men  ;  and  there  was  a  burst  of  laughter. 

"Why,"  said  the  New  York  captain, — "why,  has  a — 
a  bloody  p  —  pirate  like  you  a  wife  then  —  a  —  like  any 
honest  man  ? " 

"  She  '11  be  no  richer  than  she  is  now,"  said  Black- 
beard. 

"  She  knows  where  you  've  hid  your  money,  any- 
ways ;  don't  she,  captain  1 "  called  out  a  voice. 

"  The  divil  knows  where  I  've  hid  my  money,"  said 
Blackbeard,  "and  I  know  where  I  've  hid  it;  and  the 
longest  liver  of  the  twain  will  get  it  all.  And  that 's 
all  there  is  of  it." 


372  JACK  BALLISTEE'S   FORTUNES 

The  gray  of  early  day  was  begiuning  to  show  in  the 
east  when  Blackbearcl  and  the  New  York  captain  came 
down  to  the  landing  together.  The  New  York  captain 
swayed  and  toppled  this  way  and  that  as  he  walked, 
now  falling  against  Blackbeard,  and  now  staggeriDg 
awav  from  him. 


CHAPTEE  XLVI 


THE   FIGHT 


EAELY  in  the  morning  —  perhaps  eight  o'clock  — 
Lieutenant  Maynard  sent  a  boat  from  the  schooner 
over  to  the  settlement,  which  lay  some  four  or  five 
miles  distant.  A  number  of  men  stood  lounging  on 
the  landing,  watching  the  approach  of  the  boat.  The 
men  rowed  close  up  to  the  wharf,  and  there  lay  upon 
their  oars,  while  the  boatswain  of  the  schooner,  who  was 
in  command  of  the  boat,  stood  up  and  asked  if  there 
was  any  man  there  who  could  pilot  them  over  the 
shoals. 

Nobody  answered,  but  all  stared  stupidlj^  at  him. 
After  a  while,  one  of  the  men  at  last  took  his  pipe 
out  of  his  mouth.  "  There  be  n't  any  pilot  here,  mas- 
ter," said  he ;  "  we  be  n't  pilots." 

"Why,  what  a  story  you  do  tell!"  roared  the  boat- 
swain. "  D'  ye  suppose  I  've  never  been  down  here  be- 
fore, not  to  know  that  every  man  about  here  knows 
the  passes  of  the  shoals  ? " 

The  fellow  still  held  his  pipe  in  his  hand  He  looked 
at  another  one  of  the  men.  "  Do  you  know  the  passes 
in  over  the  shoals,  Jem  ? "  said  he. 

The  man  to  whom  he  spoke  was  a  young  fellow  with 
long,  shaggy,  sunburnt  hair  hanging  over  his  eyes  in 
an  unkempt  mass.  He  shook  his  head,  grunting.  "Na 
—  I  don't  know  naught  about  t'  shoals." 

"  'T  is  Lieutenant  Maynard  of  his  Majesty's  navy  in 


373 


374  JACK  BALLISTER'S  FORTUNES 

command  of  them  vessels  out  there,"  said  the  boat- 
swain. "  He  '11  give  any  man  five  pound  to  pilot  him 
in."  The  men  on  the  wharf  looked  at  one  another, 
but  still  no  one  spoke,  and  the  boatswain  stood  looking 
at  them.  He  saw  that  they  did  not  choose  to  answer 
him.  "  Why,"  he  said,  "  I  believe  you  've  not  got  right 
wits — that 's  what  I  believe  is  the  matter  with  you.  Pull 
me  up  to  the  landing,  men,  and  I  '11  go  ashore  and  see 
if  I  can  find  anybody  that 's  willing  to  make  five  pound 
for  such  a  little  bit  of  piloting  as  that." 

After  the  boatswain  had  gone  ashore,  the  loungers 
still  stood  on  the  wharf,  looking  down  into  the  boat, 
and  began  talking  to  one  another  for  the  men  below 
to  hear  them.  "  They're  coming  in,"  said  one,  "  to  blow 
poor  Blackbeard  out  of  the  water."  "  Ay,"  said  another 
man,  "he  's  so  peaceable  too,  he  is;  he  '11  just  lay  still 
and  let  'em  blow  and  blow,  he  will."  "  There 's  a  young 
fellow  there,"  said  another  of  the  men ;  "  he  don't  look 
fit  to  die  yet,  he  don't.  Why,  I  would  n't  be  in  his 
place  for  a  thousand  pound."  "I  do  suppose  Black- 
beard 's  so  afraid  he  don't  know  how  to  see,"  said  the 
first  speaker. 

At  last  one  of  the  men  in  the  boat  spoke  up.  "  May- 
be he  don't  know  how  to  see,"  said  he,  "but  maybe 
we  '11  blow  some  daylight  into  him  afore  we  get  through 
with  him." 

Some  more  of  the  settlers  had  come  out  from  the 
shore  to  the  end  of  the  wharf,  and  there  was  now  quite 
a  crowd  gathering  there,  all  looking  at  the  men  in  the 
boat.  "  What  do  them  Virginny  'baccy-eaters  do  down 
here  in  Caroliny,  anyway  I "  said  one  of  the  new-comers. 
"They  've  got  no  call  to  be  down  here  in  North 
Carolina  waters." 

"Maybe  you  can  keep  us  away  from  coming,  and 
maybe  you  can't,"  said  a  voice  from  the  boat. 

"  Why," answered  the  man  on  the  wharf,  "we  could 


THE  FIGHT  375 

keep  you  away  easy  enough,  but  you  be  n't  worth  the 
trouble,  and  that 's  the  truth." 

There  was  a  heavy  iron  bolt  lying  near  the  edge  of 
the  lauding.  One  of  the  men  upon  the  wharf  slyly 
thrust  it  out  with  the  end  of  his  foot.  It  hung  for  a 
moment  and  then  fell  into  the  boat  below  with  a  crash. 
"  What  d'  ye  mean  by  that "? "  roared  the  man  in  charge 
of  the  boat.  "  What  d'  ye  mean,  ye  villains  1  D'  ye 
mean  to  stave  a  hole  in  us  ?  " 

"  Why,"  said  the  man  who  had  pushed  it,  "  you  saw 
't  was  n't  done  a  purpose,  did  n't  you  ? " 

"  Well,  you  try  it  again,  and  somebody  '11  get  hurt," 
said  the  man  in  the  boat,  showing  the  butt-end  of  his 
pistol. 

The  men  on  the  wharf  began  laughing.  Just  then 
the  boatswain  came  down  from  the  settlement  again, 
and  out  along  the  landing.  The  threatened  turbulence 
quieted  as  he  approached,  and  the  crowd  moved  sullenly 
aside  to  let  him  pass.  He  did  not  bring  any  pilot  with 
him,  and  he  jumped  down  into  the  stern  of  the  boat, 
saying  briefly,  "  Push  off."  The  crowd  of  loungers  stood 
looking  after  them  as  they  rowed  away,  and  when  the 
boat  was  some  distance  from  the  landing  they  burst 
out  into  a  volley  of  derisive  yells.  "  The  villains  ! " 
said  the  boatswain,  "  they  are  all  in  league  together. 
They  would  n't  even  let  me  go  up  into  the  settlement 
to  look  for  a  pilot."  , 

The  lieutenant  and  his  sailing-master  stood  watch- 
ing the  boat  as  it  approached.  "  Could  n't  you,  then, 
get  a  pilot,  Baldwin  F "  said  Mr.  Maynard,  as  the  boat- 
swain scrambled  aboard. 

"  No,  I  could  n't,  sir,"  said  the  man.  "  Either  they  're 
all  banded  together,  or  else  they  're  all  afraid  of  the  vil- 
lains. They  would  n't  even  let  me  go  up  into  the  set- 
tlement to  find  one." 


376  JACK  BALLISTEE'S   FOKTUNES 

"  Well,  then,"  said  Mr.  Maynard,  "  we  '11  make  shift  to 
work  in  as  best  we  may  by  ourselves.  'T  will  be  high 
tide  against  one  o'clock.  We  '11  run  in  then  with  sail  as 
far  as  we  can,  and  then  we  '11  send  you  ahead  with  the 
boat  to  sound  for  a  pass,  and  we  '11  follow  with  the 
sweeps.     You  know  the  waters  pretty  well,  you  say." 

"  They  were  saying  ashore  that  the  villain  hath  forty 
men  aboard,"  said  the  boatswain.* 

Lieutenant  Maynard's  force  consisted  of  thirty-five 
men  in  the  schooner  and  twenty-five  men  in  the  sloop. 
He  carried  neither  cannons  nor  carrouades,  and  neither 
of  his  vessels  was  very  well  fitted  for  the  purj^ose  for 
which  they  were  designed.  The  schooner,  which  he 
himself  commanded,  offered  almost  no  protection  to  the 
crew.  The  rail  was  not  more  than  a  foot  high  in  the 
waist,  and  the  men  on  the  deck  were  almost  entirely 
exj^osed.  The  rail  of  the  sloop  was  perhaps  a  little 
higher,  but  it,  too,  was  hardly  better  adapted  for  fight- 
ing. Indeed,  the  lieutenant  depended  more  upon  the 
moral  force  of  official  authority  to  overawe  the  pirates 
than  uj^on  any  real  force  of  arms  or  men.  He  never  be- 
lieved, until  the  very  last  moment,  that  the  pirates  would 
show  any  real  fight.  It  is  very  possible  that  they  might 
not  have  done  so  had  they  not  thought  that  the  lieu- 
tenant had  actually  no  legal  right  supporting  him  in 
his  attack  upon  them  in  North  Carolina  waters. 

It  was  about  noon  when  anchor  was  hoisted,  and, 
with  the  schooner  leading,  both  vessels  ran  slowly  in 
before  a  light  wind  that  had  begun  to  blow  toward  mid- 
day. In  each  vessel  a  man  stood  in  the  bows,  sound- 
ing continually  with  lead  and  line.  As  they  slowly 
opened  up  the  harbor  within  the  inlet,  they  could  see 
the  pirate  sloop  hang  about  three  miles  away.  There 
was  a  boat  just  putting  off  from  it  to  the  shore. 

*  The  pirate  captain  had  really  only  twenty-five  men  aboard  of  his  sloop 
at  the  time  of  the  battle. 


THE   FIGHT  377 

The  lieutenant  and  his  sailing-master  stood  together 
on  the  roof  of  the  cabin  deck-house.  The  sailing-master 
held  a  glass  to  his  eye.  "  She  carries  a  long  gun,  sir," 
he  said,  "  and  four  carronades.  She  '11  be  hard  to  beat, 
sir,  I  do  suppose,  armed  as  we  are  with  only  light  arms 
for  close  fighting." 

The  lieutenant  laughed.  "  Why,  Brookes,"  he  said, 
"  you  seem  to  think  forever  of  these  men  showing  fight. 
You  don't  know  them  as  I  know  them.  They  have  a 
deal  of  bluster  and  make  a  deal  of  noise,  but  when  you 
seize  them  and  hold  them  with  a  strong  hand,  there  's 
naught  of  fight  left  in  them.  'T  is  like  enough  there  '11 
not  be  so  much  as  a  musket  fired  to-day.  I  've  had  to 
do  with  'em  often  enough  before  to  know  my  gentlemen 
well  by  this  time."  Nor,  as  was  said,  was  it  until  the 
very  last  that  the  lieutenant  could  be  brought  to  be- 
lieve that  the  pirates  had  any  stomach  for  a  fight. 

The  two  vessels  had  reached  perhaps  within  a  mile 
of  the  pirate  sloop  before  they  found  the  water  too 
shoal  to  venture  any  further  with  sail.  It  was  then 
that  the  boat  was  lowered  as  the  lieutenant  had  planned, 
and  the  boatswain  went  ahead  to  sound,  the  two  vessels, 
with  their  sails  still  hoisted  but  empty  of  wind,  pulling 
in  after  with  sweeps. 

The  pirate  had  also  hoisted  sail,  but  lay  as  though  wait- 
ing for  the  approach  of  the  schooner  and  the  sloop. 

The  boat  in  which  the  boatswain  was  sounding  had 
run  in  a  considerable  distance  ahead  of  the  two  vessels, 
which  were  gradually  creeping  up  with  the  sweeps  un- 
til they  had  reached  to  within  less  than  half  a  mile 
of  the  pirates  —  the  boat  with  the  boatswain  maybe 
a  quarter  of  a  mile  closer.  Suddenly  there  was  a  puff 
of  smoke  from  the  pirate  sloop,  and  then  another  and 
another,  and  the  next  moment  there  came  the  three  re- 
ports of  muskets  up  the  wind. 

"By  zounds!"  said  the  lieutenant.     "I  do  believe 


378  JACK   BALLISTEE'S   FORTUNES 

they  're  firing  on  tlie  boat ! "    And  then  he  saw  the 
boat  turn  and  begin  pulling  toward  them. 

The  boat  with  the  boatswain  aboard  came  rowing 
rapidly.  Again  there  were  three  or  four  puffs  of  smoke 
and  three  or  four  subsequent  reports  from  the  distant 
vessel.  Then,  in  a  little  while,  the  boat  was  alongside, 
and  the  boatswain  came  scrambling  aboard.  "Never 
mind  hoisting  the  boat,"  said  the  lieutenant;  "we  '11 
just  take  her  in  tow.  Come  aboard  as  quick  as  you 
can."  Then,  turning  to  the  sailing-master,  "Well, 
Brookes,  you  '11  have  to  do  the  best  you  can  to  get  in 
over  the  shoals  under  half  sail." 

"  But,  sir,"  said  the  master,  "  we  '11  be  sure  to  run 
aground." 

"  Very  well,  sir,"  said  the  lieutenant,  "  you  heard  my 
orders.  If  we  run  aground  we  run  aground,  and  that 's 
all  there  is  of  it." 

"  I  sounded  as  far  as  maybe  a  little  over  a  fathom," 
said  the  mate,  "but  the  villains  would  let  me  go  no 
nearer.  I  think  I  was  in  the  channel,  though.  'T  is 
more  open  inside,  as  I  mind  me  of  it.  There  's  a  kind 
of  a  hole  there,  and  if  we  get  in  over  the  shoals  just  be- 
yond where  I  was  we  '11  be  all  right." 

"  Very  well,  then,  you  take  the  wheel,  Baldwin,"  said 
the  lieutenant,  "  and  do  the  best  you  can  for  us." 

Lieutenant  Maynard  stood  looking  out  forward  at  the 
pirate  vessel,  which  they  were  now  steadily  nearing  un- 
der half-sail.  He  could  see  that  there  were  signs  of 
bustle  aboard  and  of  men  running  around  upon  the 
deck.  Then  he  walked  aft  and  around  the  cabin.  The 
sloop  was  some  distance  astern.  It  appeared  to  have 
run  aground,  and  they  were  trying  to  push  it  off  with 
the  sweeps.  The  lieutenant  looked  down  into  the  wa- 
ter over  the  stern,  and  saw  that  the  schooner  was 
ah-eady  raising  the  mud  in  her  wake.  Then  he  went 
forward  along  the  deck.  His  men  were  crouching  down 
along  by  the  low  rail,  and  there  was  a  tense  quietness 


THE  FIGHT  379 

of  expectation  about  them.  The  lieutenant  looked  them 
over  as  he  passed  them.  "  Johnson,"  he  said,  "  do  you 
take  the  lead  and  line  and  go  forward  and  sound  a  bit." 
Then  to  the  others  —  "  Now,  my  men,  the  moment  we 
run  her  aboard,  you  get  aboard  of  her  as  quick  as  you 
can,  do  you  understand  ?  Don't  wait  for  the  sloop  or 
think  about  her,  but  just  see  that  the  grappling-irons 
are  fast,  and  then  get  aboard.  If  any  man  offers  to  resist 
you,  shoot  him  down.     Are  you  ready,  Mr.  Cringle?" 

"  Ay,  ay,  sir,"  said  the  gunner. 

"  Very  well,  then,  be  ready,  men ;  we  '11  be  aboard  'em 
in  a  minute  or  two." 

"  There  's  less  than  a  fathom  of  water  here,  sir,"  sang 
out  Johnson  from  the  bows.  As  he  spoke  there  was  a 
sudden  soft  jar  and  jerk,  then  the  schooner  was  still. 
They  were  aground.  "  Push  her  off  to  the  lee  there ! 
Let  go  your  sheets ! "  roared  the  boatswain  from 
the  wheel.  "Push  her  off  to  the  lee."  He  spun  the 
wheel  around  as  he  spoke.  A  half  a  dozen  men  sprang 
up,  seized  the  sweeps,  and  plunged  them  into  the  water. 
Others  ran  to  help  them,  but  the  sweeps  only  sunk 
into  the  mud  without  moving  the  schooner.  The  sails 
had  fallen  off  and  they  were  flapping  and  thumping 
and  clapping  in  the  wind.  Others  of  the  crew  had 
scrambled  to  their  feet  and  ran  to  help  those  at  the 
sweeps.  The  lieutenant  had  walked  quickly  aft  again. 
They  were  very  close  now  to  the  pirate  sloop,  and  sud- 
denly some  one  hailed  him  from  aboard  of  her.  When 
he  turned  he  saw  that  there  was  a  man  standing  up  on 
the  rail  of  the  pirate  sloop,  holding  by  the  back-stays. 
"  Who  are  you  ? "  he  called,  from  the  distance,  "  and 
whence  come  you?  What  do  you  seek  here?  What 
d'  ye  mean,  coming  down  on  us  this  way?" 

The  lieutenant  heard  somebody  say :  "  That 's  Black- 
beard  hisself."  And  he  looked  with  great  interest  at 
the  distant  figure. 

The  pirate  stood  out  boldly  against  the  cloudy  sky. 


380  JACK  BALLISTER'S   FORTUNES 

Somebody  seemed  to  speak  to  him  from  behind.  He 
turned  his  head  and  then  he  turned  round  again.  "  We  're 
only  peaceful  merchantmen  !  "  he  called  out.  "  What 
authority  have  you  got  to  come  down  upon  us  this  way  I 
If  you  '11  come  aboard  I  '11  show  you  my  papers  and 
that  we  're  only  peaceful  merchantmen." 

"  The  villains  ! "  said  the  lieutenant  to  the  master,  who 
stood  beside  him.  "They  're  peaceful  merchantmen, 
are  they !  They  look  like  peaceful  merchantmen,  with 
three  carronades  and  a  long  gun  aboard ! "  Then  he 
called  out  across  the  water,  "  I  'U  come  aboard  with  my 
schooner  as  soon  as  I  can  push  her  off  here." 

"  If  you  undertake  to  come  aboard  of  me,"  called  the 
pirate,  "  I  '11  shoot  into  you.  You  've  got  no  authority 
to  board  me,  and  I  won't  have  you  do  it.  If  you  un- 
dertake it  't  will  be  at  your  own  risk,  for  I  '11  neither 
ask  quarter  of  you  nor  give  none." 

"  Very  well,"  said  the  lieutenant,  "  if  you  choose  to 
try  that,  you  may  do  as  you  please ;  for  I  'm  coming 
aboard  of  you  as  sure  as  heaven." 

"  Push  off  the  bow  there ! "  called  the  boatswain  at 
the  wheel.  "  Look  alive !  Why  don't  you  push  off  the 
bow?" 

"  She 's  hard  aground ! " answered  the  gunner.  "We 
can't  budge  her  an  inch." 

"  If  they  was  to  fire  into  us  now,"  said  the  sailing- 
master,  "  they  'd  smash  us  to  pieces." 

"  They  won't  fire  into  us,"  said  the  lieutenant.  "  They 
won't  dare  to."  He  jumped  down  from  the  cabin  deck- 
house as  he  spoke,  and  went  forward  to  urge  the  men 
in  pushing  off  the  boat.  It  was  already  beginning  to 
move. 

At  that  moment  the  sailing-master  suddenly  called 
out,  "  Mr.  Maynard !  Mr.  Maynard !  they  're  going  to 
give  us  a  broadside  ! " 

Almost  before  the  words  were  out  of  his  mouth,  be- 


THE   FIGHT  381 

fore  Lieutenant  Maynard  could  turn,  there  came  a  loud 
and  deafening  crash,  and  then  instantly  another,  and 
a  third,  and  almost  as  instantly  a  crackling  and  rend- 
ing of  broken  wood.  There  were  clean  yellow  splinters 
flying  everywhere.  A  man  fell  violently  against  the 
lieutenant,  nearly  overturning  him,  but  he  caught  at 
the  stays  and  so  saved  himself.  For  one  tense  moment 
he  stood  holding  his  breath.  Then  all  about  him  arose 
a  sudden  outcry  of  groans  and  shouts  and  oaths.  The 
man  who  had  fallen  against  him  was  lying  face  down 
upon  the  deck.  His  thighs  were  quivering,  and  a  pool 
of  blood  was  spreading  and  running  out  from  under 
him.  There  were  other  men  down,  all  about  the  deck. 
Some  were  rising ;  some  were  trying  to  rise ;  some  only 
moved. 

There  was  a  distant  sound  of  yelling  and  cheering 
and  shouting.  It  was  from  the  pirate  sloop.  The  pi- 
rates were  rushing  about  upon  her  decks.  They  had 
pulled  the  cannon  back,  and,  through  the  grunting 
sound  of  the  groans  about  him,  the  lieutenant  could 
distinctly  hear  the  thud  and  punch  of  the  rammers, 
and  he  knew  they  were  going  to  shoot  again. 

The  low  rail  afforded  almost  no  shelter  against  such 
a  broadside,  and  there  was  nothing  for  it  but  to  order 
all  hands  below  for  the  time  being. 

"  Gret  below  !  "  roared  out  the  lieutenant.  "  All  hands 
get  below  and  lie  snug  for  further  orders ! "  In  obe- 
dience the  men  ran  scrambling  below  into  the  hold,  and 
in  a  little  while  the  decks  were  nearly  clear  except  for 
the  three  dead  men  and  some  three  or  four  wounded. 
The  boatswain  crouching  down  close  to  the  wheel,  and 
the  lieutenant  himself,  were  the  only  others  upon  deck. 
Everywhere  there  were  smears  and  sprinkles  of  blood. 
"  Where  's  Brookes  ?  "  the  lieutenant  called  out. 

"  He  's  hurt  in  the  arm,  sir,  and  he 's  gone  below,"  said 
the  boatswain. 


382  JACK   BALLISTEE'S   FORTUNES 

Thereupon  the  lieutenant  himself  walked  over  to  the 
forecastle  hatch,  and,  hailing  the  gunner,  ordered  him 
to  get  up  another  ladder,  so  that  the  men  could  be  run  up 
on  deck  if  the  pirates  should  undertake  to  come  aboard. 
At  that. moment  the  boatswain  at  the  wheel  called  out 
that  the  villains  were  going  to  shoot  again,  and  the 
lieutenant,  turning,  saw  the  gunner  aboard  of  the  pirate 
sloop  in  the  act  of  touching  the  iron  to  the  touch-hole. 
He  stooped  down.  There  was  another  loud  and  deafen- 
ing crash  of  cannon,  one,  two,  three — four, —  the  last  two 
almost  together, —  and  almost  instantly  the  boatswain 
called  out :  "  'T  is  the  sloop,  sir !  look  at  the  sloop ! " 

The  sloop  had  got  afloat  again,  and  had  been  coming 
up  to  the  aid  of  the  schooner,  when  the  pirates  fired 
their  second  broadside,  now  at  her.  When  the  lieu- 
tenant looked  at  her  she  was  still  quivering  with  the 
impact  of  the  shot,  and  the  next  moment  she  began 
falling  off  to  the  wind,  and  he  could  see  the  wounded 
men  rising  and  falling  and  struggling  upon  her  decks. 

At  the  same  moment  the  boatswain  called  out  that 
the  enemy  was  coming  aboard,  and  even  as  he  spoke 
the  pirate  sloop  came  drifting  out  from  the  cloud  of 
smoke  that  enveloped  her,  looming  up  larger  and  larger 
as  she  came  down  upon  them.  The  lieutenant  still 
crouched  down  under  the  rail,  looking  out  at  them. 
Suddenly,  a  little  distance  away,  she  came  about,  broad- 
side on,  and  then  drifted.  She  was  close  aboard  now. 
SoDiething  came  flying  through  the  air — another  and 
another.  They  were  bottles.  One  of  them  broke  with 
a  crash  upon  the  deck.  The  others  rolled  over  to  the 
further  rail.  In  each  of  them  a  quick-match  was  smok- 
ing. Almost  instantly,  there  was  a  flash  and  a  terrific 
report,  and  the  air  was  full  of  the  whizz  and  singing  of 
broken  particles  of  glass  and  iron.  There  was  another 
report,  and  then  the  whole  air  seemed  full  of  gunpowder 
smoke.  "  They  're  aboard  of  us ! "  shouted  the  boatswain, 


THE  FIGHT  383 

and  even  as  he  spoke,  the  lieutenant  roared  out :  "  All 
hands  to  repel  boarders  ! "  A  second  later  there  came  the 
heavy,  thumping  bumjD  of  the  vessels  coming  together. 
Lieutenant  Majmard,  as  he  called  out  the  order,  ran 
forward  through  the  smoke,  snatching  one  of  his  pistols 
out  of  his  pocket  and  the  cutlass  out  of  its  sheath  as 
he  did  so.  Behind  him,  the  men  were  coming,  swarming 
up  from  below.  There  was  a  sudden  stunning  report 
of  a  pistol,  and  then  another  and  another,  almost  to- 
gether. There  was  a  groan  and  the  fall  of  a  heavy  body, 
and  then  a  figure  came  jumping  over  the  rail,  with 
two  or  three  more  directly  following.  The  lieutenant 
was  in  the  midst  of  the  gunpowder  smoke,  when  sud- 
denly Blackbeard  was  before  him.  The  pirate  captain 
had  stripped  himself  naked  to  the  waist.  His  shaggy 
black  hair  was  falling  over  his  eyes,  and  he  looked  like 
a  demon  fresh  from  the  pit,  with  his  frantic  face.  Al- 
most with  the  blindness  of  instinct,  the  lieutenant  thrust 
out  his  pistol,  firing  it  as  he  did  so.  The  pirate  stag- 
gered back :  He  was  down  —  no ;  he  was  up  again.  H« 
had  a  pistol  in  each  hand ;  but  there  was  a  stream  of 
blood  running  down  his  naked  ribs.  Suddenly,  the 
mouth  of  a  pistol  was  pointing  straight  at  the  lieuten- 
ant's head.  He  ducked  instinctively,  striking  upward 
with  his  cutlass  as  he  did  so.  There  was  a  stunning, 
deafening  report  almost  in  his  ear.  He  struck  again 
blindly  with  his  cutlass.  He  saw  the  flash  of  a  sword 
and  flung  up  his  guard  almost  instinctively,  meeting 
the  crash  of  the  descending  blade.  Somebody  shot 
from  behind  him,  and  at  the  same  moment  he  saw 
someone  else  strike  the  j^irate.  Blackbeard  staggered 
again,  and  this  time  there  was  a  great  gash  upon  his 
neck.  Then  one  of  Maynard's  own  men  tumbled  head- 
long upon^him.  He  fell  with  the  man,  but  almost  in- 
stantly he  had  scrambled  to  his  feet  again,  and  as  he 
did  so  he  saw  that  the  pirate  sloop  had  di'ifted  a  little 


384  JACK  BALLISTER'S   FORTUNES 

away  fi'om  them,  and  that  their  grapj)ling-iron  had  evi- 
dently parted.  His  hand  was  smarting  as  though  struck 
with  the  lash  of  a  whij).  He  looked  around  him ;  the 
pirate  captain  was  nowhere  to  be  seen  —  yes,  there  he 
was,  lying  by  the  rail.  He  raised  himself  upon  his  elbow, 
and  the  lieutenant  saw  that  he  was  trying  to  point  a 
pistol  at  him,  with  an  arm  that  wavered  and  swayed 
blindly,  the  pistol  nearly  falling  from  his  fingers.  Sud' 
denly,  his  other  elbow  gave  way,  and  he  fell  down  upon 
his  face.  He  tried  to  raise  himself  —  he  fell  down  again. 
There  was  a  report  and  a  cloud  of  smoke,  and  when  it 
cleared  away  Blackbeard  had  staggered  up  again.  He 
was  a  terrible  figure — his  head  nodding  down  upon  his 
breast.  Sombody  shot  again,  and  then  the  swaying 
figure  toppled  and  fell.  It  lay  still  for  a  moment  — 
then  rolled  over — then  lay  still  again. 

There  was  a  loud  splash  of  men  jumj)ing  overboard, 
and  then,  almost  instantly,  the  cry  of  "  Quarter !  quar- 
ter ! "  The  lieutenant  ran  to  the  edge  of  the  vessel.  It 
was  as  he  had  thought:  the  gi'appling-irons  of  the 
pirate  sloop  had  parted,  and  it  had  drifted  away.  The 
few  pirates  who  had  been  left  aboard  of  the  schooner 
had  jumped  overboard  and  were  now  holding  up  their 
hands.  "  Quarter ! "  they  cried.  "  Don't  shoot ! —  quar- 
ter ! "    And  the  fight  was  over. 

The  lieutenant  looked  down  at  his  hand,  and  then  he 
saw,  for  the  first  time,  that  there  was  a  great  cutlass 
gash  across  the  back  of  it,  and  that  his  arm  and  shirt- 
sleeve were  wet  with  blood.  He  went  aft,  holding  the 
wrist  of  his  wounded  hand.  The  boatswain  was  still  at 
the  wheel.  "  By  zounds ! "  said  the  lieutenant,  with  a 
nervous,  quavering  laugh,  "I  did  n't  know  there  was 
such  fight  in  the  villains." 

His  wounded  and  shattered  sloop  was  again  coming 
up  toward  him  under  sail,  but  the  pirates  had  surren- 
dered, and  the  fight  was  over. 


"  THE    COMBATANTS    CUT    AND    SLASHED    WITH    SAVAGE    FURY." 


CHAPTER    XL VII 


IN   THE   NEW   LIFE 


IT  is  wonderful  how  adolescent  youth  accepts  the 
changes  of  its  life,  and  with  what  fluency  it  adajjts 
itself  to  them. 

During  the  mouth  that  the  Attorney  Burton  lingered 
at  Marlborough  before  his  return  to  England,  it  came 
to  be  more  like  home  to  Jack  than  any  place  in  which 
he  had  ever  lived.  In  a  wonderfully  little  while  there 
grew  to  be  a  singularly  ripe  feeling  of  familiarity  about 
the  roomy  halls  and  passageways,  the  books,  the  pic- 
tures, the  fine,  stiff,  solid  furniture,  the  atmosphere  of 
wide  and  affluent  ease  ;  a  like  familiarity  in  all  the  out- 
side surroundings  of  unkempt  grassy  lawn,  of  garden 
and  of  stable.  No  doubt  the  steady,  uniform  kindness 
of  those  dear  people  tended  more  than  anything  else 
to  endear  everything  to  him,  with  that  peculiar  home- 
feeling  that  always  afterward  embalmed  the  memo- 
ries of  Marlborough  in  his  mind.  No  one,  not  even 
his  uncle,  Sir  Henry,  in  the  few  years  that  followed, 
seemed  to  fill  the  singular  place  in  his  heart  occupied 
by  Colonel  Parker  with  his  somewhat  grandiose  benig- 
nity ;  no  one  the  place  of  Madam  Parker  with  her  fussy, 
sometimes  tiresome,  attentions. 

It  was  a  long  time  before  NeUy  Parker  recovered  her 
perfect  strength.  Some  days  she  would  appear  almost 
perfectly  herself ;  then  would  ensue  times  of  petulant 
lassitude  that  were  sometimes  very  hard  to  bear.     The 


385 


386  JACK   BALLISTEE'S   FOKTUNES 

little  doctor  came  every  day  to  see  her,  sometimes  stay- 
ing* to  supper,  and  riding  home  alone  through  the  star- 
lit night.  He  and  Jack  struck  up  a  great  friendship, 
and  there  were  many  little  meaningless  fragments  of 
that  pleasant  time  remaining  in  Jack's  memory,  in 
which  the  little  pot-bellied  man  was  the  dominant  figure. 

One  such  recollection  was  of  finding  him  waiting  for 
Miss  Nelly  Parker  when  she  and  Jack  returned  from 
a  ride  to  Bolingwood — Mr.  Bamfield  Oliver's  place.  She 
had  gone  to  call  on  the  young  ladies,  and  Jack,  at  her 
bidding,  had  reluctantly  accompanied  her.  He  always 
felt  his  awkwardness  and  young  clumsiness  at  such 
times — the  constraint  of  talking  about  himself  and  of 
answering  those  reiterated  questions  about  his  adven- 
tures. At  the  sound  of  their  horses'  hoofs  the  doctor 
and  Madam  Parker  had  appeared  at  the  door,  and  as 
Jack  dismounted  and  helped  Nelly  Parker  down  from 
her  horse  at  the  horse-block,  the  doctor  had  called  out, 
"  Well,  my  young  pirate,  and  so  you  are  back  again, 
then  ?  Zooks !  We  were  just  debating  whether  you 
had  n't  run  away  with  our  young  lady  again,  and  for 
good  and  all  this  time." 

Another  such  recollection  of  his  presence  was  of  his 
coming  unexpectedly  one  time  while  there  was  com- 
pany out  on  the  lawn,  and  of  feeling  her  pulse  as  she 
sat  in  the  midst  of  them  all. 

Such  foolish  little  memory  fragments  are  very  apt  to 
have  some  indefinable  filaments  of  association  that 
cause  them  to  cling  with  j^eculiar  tenacity  to  the  mem- 
ory. 

For  some  such  subtle  reason  all  the  little  circum- 
stances of  a  certain  uneventful  Sunday  morning  be- 
came very  intimately  a  jDart  of  Jack's  life.  That  day  he 
rode  to  the  parish  church  with  the  family,  in  the  great 
coach.  It  had  been  raining  the  day  before,  but  then  the 
air  was  full  of  warm,  mellow  autumn  sunlight,  that  fell 


IN   THE   NEW   LIFE  387 

widely  in  through  the  coach  windows  and  across  Colonel 
Parker's  knees  and  his  own  lap,  feeling  warm  and  pleas- 
ant to  his  legs.  The  road  was  heavy  with  sticky  mud, 
and  the  four  horses  strained  and  labored  as  they  pulled 
the  huge,  yawing  coach  through  the  deejDer  ruts.  jSTelly 
Parker  and  her  mother  sat  opposite,  the  young  girl, 
all  unconscious  of  his  steady  look,  playing  with  and 
smoothing  out  the  ribbons  that  hung  from  her  j)rayer- 
book  —  trivial  little  things,  but  for  some  reason  knit 
so  closely  into  his  consciousness,  that  his  memory  al- 
ways recurred  to  them  with  a  singular  precision  of 
detail.  The  church  was  j)aved  with  brick,  and  he  even 
remembered  how  very  chill  and  damp  it  was  that  morn- 
ing, and  how,  by  and  by,  when  he  moved  his  toes  in  his 
shoes,  he  found  them  grown  numb  and  as  cold  as  ice. 

When  the  sermon  was  over  the  ladies  and  gentlemen 
gathered  for  a  while,  standing  in  groups  here  and  there 
in  the  churchyard,  flooded  with  the  yellow  sunlight  that 
felt  very  bland  and  warm  after  the  chill,  damp  interior 
of  the  building.  The  greater  part  of  the  ladies  were 
gathered  in  a  single  group,  chatting  together  about 
this  or  that  of  gossip.  Three  or  four  gentlemen  stood 
with  them,  now  and  then  putting  in  a  word,  now  and 
then  laughing.  Colonel  Parker  and  Mr.  Bamfield  Oli- 
ver and  Mr.  Cartwright  were  standing  together,  dis- 
cussing tobacco ;  and  from  where  he  stood  he  could 
hear  Mr.  Oliver's  monologue  running  somewhat  thus :  — 
"I  cannot  understand  it," — here  he  offered  the  other 
gentlemen  snuff  from  a  fine  silver-gilt  snuff-box, —  "  I 
cannot  understand  it ;  't  was  as  good  tobacco  as  any  I 
ever  shipped,  and  if  there  was  anything  the  matter  with 
it,  as  Sweet  complains,  why,  the  hogsheads  must  have 
been  broached  in  the  carrying.  I  'm  sure  it  could  not 
have  been  Jarkins's  fault;  for  he  is  the  best  packer  I 
have."     And  so  on  and  so  on. 

All  this  while  Jack  was  lingering  near  Nelly  Parker, 


388  JACK   BALLISTER'S   FORTUNES 

holding  her  prayer-book  in  his  hand.  He  saw  that 
Harry  Oliver  and  two  of  his  sisters  were  talking  to 
Mrs.  Cartwright  a  little  distance  away.  He  knew  one 
of  the  young  ladies ;  the  other,  who  had  been  away  from 
home  for  some  time,  was,  as  yet,  a  stranger  to  him. 
He  felt  that  she  was  looking  intently  at  him,  and  pres- 
ently saw  her  whispering  to  her  brother.  He  tried 
to  appear  unconscious,  but  with  certain  prescience  he 
knew  very  well  she  was  speaking  to  her  brother  about 
him  and  his  adventures.  Suddenly  Harry  Oliver  burst 
out  laughing.  "  Why,  Master  Jack,"  he  called,  "  here  's 
another  young  lady  hath  lost  her  heart  to  you,  and 
thinks  you're  a  hero.  The  fame  of  your  pirate  ad- 
ventm-es  has  reached  all  the  way  to  the  Bermuda  Hun- 
dreds, 't  would  seem." 

The  young  lady's  velvety  cheek,  dark  like  her  broth- 
er's, colored  to  a  soft  crimson,  and  she  turned  sliarply 
away.  Jack  felt  himself  blushing  in  sympathy,  and 
Nelly  Parker,  looking  at  him,  burst  out  with  a  peal  of 
laughing. 

The  afternoon  of  another  Sunday,  when  the  news 
of  the  fight  at  Ocracock  and  the  death  of  Blackbeard 
was  first  received  at  Marlborough,  had  perhaps  more 
reason  for  its  insistence  upon  the  plane  of  his  con- 
sciousness than  this  meaningless  fragment. 

Nelly  Parker  had  gone  to  her  room  after  dinner,  and 
the  house  seemed  singularly  empty  without  her  pres- 
ence in  it.  Jack  was  sitting  in  the  library,  reading. 
Now  and  then  the  words  formed  themselves  into  ideas, 
but  for  long  lapses  he  would  read  without  knowing 
what  he  was  reading,  his  mind  full  of  and  brimming 
over  with  the  thought  of  her.  The  sunlight  came  in 
through  the  wide,  open  windows,  and  lay  in  great 
squares  across  the  floor,  and  the  brass  of  the  nails  in 
the  chair  and  sofa  and  of  the  andirons,  catching  the 
light,  gleamed  like  stars,  and  the  room  was  full  of  the 


IN   THE  NEW  LIFE  389 

clear  brightness.  The  blazing  fire  snapped  and  crackled 
in  the  great  fireplace,  and  there  was  a  dish  of  apples 
on  the  table. 

While  he  so  sat  there  he  heard  the  door  suddenly 
opened,  and  the  rustle  of  a  dress.  He  knew  instantly 
and  vividly  who  it  was  had  come  in  —  he  felt  it  in 
every  fiber,  but  he  would  not  look  up.  Then  he  heard 
her  moving  about  the  room. 

"  What  are  you  reading  I "  she  said,  at  last. 

Jack  looked  at  the  top  of  the  page.  "'T  is  The 
Masque  of  Comus,^^  he  said. 

"  T/^e  Masque  of  Comus!^''  she  repeated.  "I  was 
reading  that  to  papa  yesterday." 

She  came  over  and  stood  behind  his  chair  as  she 
spoke,  leaning  over  him  and  looking  down  at  the  book 
in  his  hand,  reading  it  as  he  read  it.  He  felt  her  near- 
ness, and  every  filament  of  nerve  tingled  at  it.  Her 
breath  fanned  his  cheek,  and  a  part  of  her  dress  touched 
his  shoulder.  His  heart  thrilled  poignantly,  and  his 
breath  came  thickly  and  suffocatingly,  but  still  he  did 
not  look  up.  She  stood  there  close  behind  him  for  a 
long  while.  He  could  almost  hear  the  beat  of  her  young 
heart,  and  it  seemed  to  him  that  she  must  be  feeling  some 
soft  echo  of  his  own  passion.  Suddenly  she  gave  his 
elbow  a  push  that  knocked  the  book  out  of  his  hand, 
and  then  she  burst  out  laughing.  As  Jack  stooped  to 
pick  up  the  book  there  was  the  voice  of  some  one  in 
the  hall  without.  It  was  Harry  Oliver,  and  she  sprang 
away  from  where  she  stood,  and  flew  like  a  flash  to  a 
chair  at  some  distance,  where  she  seated  herself,  in- 
stantly demure. 

Then  Harry  Oliver  came  into  the  room;  and  pres- 
ently he  and  she  were  talking  and  laughing  together, 
and  all  that  agonizing  delight  of  the  little  while  before 
melted  out  of  Jack's  heart  and  dissolved  away  and  was 
gone. 


390  JACK   BALLISTER'S   FORTUNES 

That  passionate,  innocent  joy  of  early  love !  How 
does  it  fill  all  these  little  nameless,  foolish  things  full 
to  overflowing  with  its  tremulous  golden  happiness  — 
its  ardent  pangs  of  deep  delight ! 

It  was  a  little  while  after  this  that  Colonel  Parker 
called  Jack  into  his  own  cabinet  and  put  a  packet  of 
papers  in  his  hand,  saying  that  the}^  had  just  been 
sent  up  from  Jamestown,  and  that  they  were  from 
Lieutenant  Maynard ;  that  there  had  been  a  fight  with 
the  pirates  at  Ocracock,  and  that  Blackbeard  was 
killed. 

"What!"  exclaimed  Jack.  "Blackbeard  dead?" 
And  then  again,  after  a  moment — "Blackbeard  dead!" 
It  seemed  incredible  to  him  that  such  a  thing  could  be ; 
he  could  not  realize  it. 

There  was  a  list  of  killed  and  wounded  accompany- 
ing the  letter,  and  Jack  read  it  over,  name  by  name  — 
he  knew  nearly  all.  "  Wliy,"  he  cried,  "Morton  's 
dead,  too  —  and  Miller,  the  quartermaster  —  and  Eob- 
erts,  and  Gibbons.  Why,  that  is  all  of  Blackbeard's 
officers,  except  Hands,  who  is  lame  at  Bath  Town." 

"  Maynard  says  there  was  a  lame  man  they  arrested 
down  at  Bath  Town  and  brought  up  with  them." 

"  That,  then,  must  be  Hands,"  said  Jack.  "  He  was 
the  fellow  whom  Blackbeard  shot  in  sport  while  I  was 
down  there."  And  then,  suddenly  thinking  of  Nelly 
Parker,  his  heart  thrilled  agonizingly  again. 


CHAPTER  XLVIII 

JACK  MEETS   SOME   OLD  FRIENDS 

IT  was  late  in  iSTovember  when  Mr,  Burton  returned 
to  England.  Jack  accompanied  him  as  far  as  James- 
town ;  and  Mr.  Simms,  who  had  business  at  the  factory 
at  Yorktown,  also  went  down  in  the  schooner  as  far  as 
that  place. 

The  day  was  keen  and  clear,  with  a  soft,  cool  wind 
blowing,  before  which  the  schooner  sloped  swiftly  away, 
dropping  the  great  brick  front  of  Marlborough  rapidly 
behind.  The  wide  rush  of  air  and  water  seemed  very 
full  of  life  and  vigor,  and  Jack  lay  up  under  the  weather- 
rail  in  the  warm  sunlight,  wrapped  in  his  overcoat  and 
given  up  utterly  to  the  building  of  day-dreams. 

He  had  just  parted  from  Nelly  Parker,  and  his  mind 
was  very  full  of  thoughts  of  her.  She  had  been  more 
than  usually  teasing  that  morning.  "  I  believe  you 
would  n't  mind  if  I  were  going  away  from  you  for- 
ever," Jack  had  burst  out  as  they  stood  lingering  in 
the  wide  sunlight  in  front  of  the  great  house.  "  I  some- 
times think  that  you  have  no  heart  in  you  at  all." 

Then  she  looked  at  him  with  sudden  seriousness. 
"  Do  you,  then,  really  think  that  of  me  ? "  she  said. 
"  Well,  then,  I  may  tell  you  that  I  have  a  heart,  and 
that  it  would,  indeed,  grieve  me  to  the  heart  if  you 
were  going  away  forever." 

"Would  it  I"  Jack  had  said. 

"Yes.  And  see  —  if  I  have  teased  you  too  much, 
here  is  my  hand." 

391 


392  JACK  BALLISTEE'S  FOKTUNES 

Jack  took  her  soft,  white  hand  in  his;  it  was  very 
warm.  Then  with  a  sudden  impulse  he  lifted  it  to  his 
lips  and  pressed  a  long,  long  kiss  upon  it.  She  did 
not  withdraw  it,  and  when  he  looked  up  he  saw  that 
she  was  still  gazing  very  steadily  at  him.  His  heart 
was  beating  with  exceeding  quickness,  but  he  looked  as 
steadily  back  at  her,  though  with  swimming  sight. 
Then  she  had  burst  out  into  a  peal  of  laughter,  had 
snatched  her  hand  away,  and  had  run  away  back  into 
the  house,  leaving  him  standing  where  he  was.  Then 
he  had  hurried  down  toward  the  wharf,  hardly  sensing 
whither  he  was  walking,  and  not  answering  Mr.  Simms 
when  the  factor  asked  him  what  had  kept  him  so  long. 

Long  after  they  had  dropped  Marlborough  away  be- 
hind, he  still  lay  in  the  sunlight  under  the  rail,  wrapped 
closely  in  his  overcoat,  his  heart  full  of  the  thought  of 
her.  He  was  giving  himself  over  luxuriously  to  that 
foolish  day-dreaming  to  which  adolescent  youth  loves 
to  yield  itself,  and  upon  the  funny  inconsequence  of 
which  the  matured  man  looks  back  and  laughs  from 
the  firmer  stand  of  later  years.  For  one  often  remem- 
bers such  dear,  foolish  day-dreams  in  after  times. 

He  imagined  to  himself  how  he  would  have  to  go 
away  to  live  in  England.  He  would  not  come  back 
again,  he  thought,  until  he  had  made  himself  famous ; 
then  he  would  return  to  her  once  more.  Yes ;  while  he 
was  away  from  her  he  would  become  very  famous. 
Maybe  he  would  enter  the  navy.  There  would  be  a 
great  war,  and  his  ship  would  be  in  battle.  He  pic- 
tured to  himself  a  terrible  battle  in  which  the  senior 
officers  would  all  be  killed,  so  that  it  would  depend 
upon  him,  the  youngest  of  all,  to  save  the  ship.  He 
would  call  upon  the  men  to  follow  him,  and  then,  in 
a  last  desperate,  almost  hopeless  attack,  he  would 
rush  aboard  the  enemy's  ship,  his  men  close  behind  him. 
They  would  conquer,  but   he  would  have   been   shot 


JACK   MEETS   SOME   OLD   FEIENDS  393 

through  the  arm,  and  his  arm  would  have  to  be  cut  off, 
and  he  would  go  with  an  empty  sleeve  —  it  seemed  very 
pathetic  as  he  thought  of  it.  All  the  world  would  talk 
of  the  young  hero  who  had  saved  the  ship,  and  Nelly 
Parker  would  hear  of  it  and  would  think, ''  He  will  now 
never  come  back  to  Virginia  again.  He  is  too  great 
and  too  famous  to  remember  me  now."  Then  one  day 
he  would  suddenly  appear  before  her.  She  would  say : 
"  "What !  have  you,  then,  come  back  to  us  f  Have  you, 
then,  not  forgotten  us  ?  "  He  would  smile  and  would 
say:  "No,  I  can  never  forget  you."  He  would  stand 
before  her  with  one  empty  sleeve  pinned  to  his  breast. 
There  would  be  an  order  upon  his  breast,  and  he  would 
say :  "  I  love  you  and  have  always  loved  you,  and  none 
but  you." 

""  If  we  make  it  in  time,"  said  Mr.  Simms,  suddenly, 
speaking  to  the  Attorney  Burton  where  they  stood  to- 
gether looking  out  toward  the  shore,  "  we  '11  stop  at  the 
Roost  this  afternoon.  There  was  a  letter  for  Mr.  Parker 
sent  up  to  Marlborough  by  mistake  yesterday,  and  I 
may  as  well  leave  it  on  the  way  down." 

His  words  broke  sharply  upon  Jack's  thoughts  and 
shattered  the  dream  to  fragments.  He  lay  silent  for 
a  moment  or  two.  "  Do  you  think,"  he  said,  suddenly, 
"  that  Mr.  Parker  is  there  now  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know,"  said  Mr.  Simms,  turning  toward  him, 
"but  I  hope  he  is,  so  that  I  can  leave  this  letter  for  him. 
Why  do  you  ask  1 " 

"  I  'd  like  to  go  ashore,"  said  Jack,  "  but  I  don't  care 
to  meet  him," 

"  Why  not  ?  "  said  Mr.  Simms.  "  He  can't  do  you  any 
harm." 

"I  know  that  very  well,"  said  Jack,  "but,  all  the 
same,  I  don't  want  to  see  him,  if  I  can  help  it." 

It  wanted  still  an  hour  of  sunset  when  they  reached 
the  Roost.    Mr.  Parker  was  not  at  home,  and  Jack  ac- 


394  JACK  BALLISTEE'S  FOKTUNES 

companied  Mr.  Simms  up  to  the  house.  How  familiar 
and  yet  how  strange  everything  ap]3eared  !  How  full 
of  countless  associations !  There  was  a  bed-coverlet 
hanging  from  a  window,  and  he  seemed  to  recognize  its 
garish  colors.  A  face  passed  by  the  open  window  —  it 
was  Peggy  Pitcher.  Two  or  three  negroes  came  out 
from  behind  the  end  of  the  house  and  stood  looking 
toward  him ;  among  them  was  Little  Coffee.  The  negro 
boy  stood  staring;  then,  when  Mr.  Simms  had  gone 
into  the  house,  he  came  forward,  and  Jack  burst  out 
laughing  at  his  staring  face.  He  asked  the  negro  boy 
where  Dennis  was ;  Little  Coffee  said  that  the  overseer 
was  at  the  stable,  and  Jack  went  directly  over  to  the 
outbuildings.  Little  Coffee  following  him.  That  feel- 
ing of  renewed  familiarity  still  surrounded  everything. 
Everywhere  the  negroes  grinned  recognition  at  him,  and 
he  spoke  to  them  all,  laughing  and  nodding  his  head. 

He  found  Dennis  sitting  in  the  shed  by  the  stables 
mending  an  old  saddle.  He  looked  up  when  Jack  came 
in,  as  though  for  a  moment  puzzled.  Then  instantly 
his  face  cleared.  "  Why,  lad,"  he  said,  "  is  that  you  ? " 
He  slipped  the  wax-end  betwixt  his  lips  and  held  out 
his  hand.  Then  he  looked  Jack  over.  "  And  how  you 
have  climbed  up  in  the  world,  to  be  sure ! "  he  said. 

"  Have  I  ? "  said  Jack,  laughing. 

They  talked  together  for  a  little  while  about  indiffer- 
ent things,  and  it  did  not  seem  to  Jack  that  Dennis  was 
as  keenly  alert  as  he  should  have  been  to  the  fact  of  his 
visit.  There  was  something  very  disappointing  in  it. 
As  they  talked.  Little  Coffee  stood  by,  looking  him  all 
over.  "  How  's  Mrs.  Pitcher,  Dennis  ? "  Jack  asked, 
presently. 

"  Oh,  she  's  very  well,"  said  Dennis.  "  She  was  talk- 
ing about  you  only  this  morning.  I  tell  you  what 't  is, 
lad,  she  and  his  honor  had  it  like  shovel  and  tongs  after 
you  ran  away." 


JACK   MEETS   SOME   OLD   FRIENDS  395 

"  Did  they  ?  "  said  Jack.  "  Well,  I  think  I  '11  go  over 
to  the  house  to  see  her.  I  've  only  got  a  little  while  to 
stay.  We  're  going  on  down  the  river  to  Jamestown. 
Good-by." 

Dennis  took  the  hand  that  Jack  gave  him  and  shook 
it  warmly. 

"  I  can't  get  np,"  he  said,  "  for  this  teasing  saddle." 

Jack  went  away  over  to  the  house,  still  accompanied 
by  Little  Coffee.  Some  one  had  told  Peggy  Pitcher 
that  he  was  about  the  place,  and  she  was  expecting 
him.  Whatever  lack  of  warmth  Jack  had  felt  in  Den- 
nis's greeting  was  fully  made  up  by  Mrs.  Pitcher. 
"Why,  Jack,"  she  said,  looking  all  over  him,  "what 
a  fine,  grand  gentleman  you  've  gi-own  all  of  a  sudden  ! 
Well,  to  be  sure  !  To  think  that  I  should  have  seen  you 
that  last  time  sitting  down  yonder  in  the  cellar  so  down 
in  the  spirits  that 't  was  enough  to  break  a  body's  heart 
to  see  you,  and  now  you  to  be  grown  so  fine  a  young 
lord  of  a  man,  to  be  sure.  I  did  hear  say  that  you 
joined  the  pirates  after  you  got  away." 

"No,  I  did  n't  join  the  pirates,"  said  Jack.  "  I  went 
down  to  North  Carolina  with  them,  but  I  did  n't  have 
any  business  with  them.  But  never  mind  that,  Mrs. 
Pitcher.  What  I  wanted  to  say  is  that  I  '11  never  for- 
get what  you  've  done  for  me  as  long  as  ever  I  live." 

"  Won't  you,  Master  Jack  f "  she  said,  evidently  grati- 
fied. "  Why,  now,  that  's  very  kind  and  noble-spoken 
of  you." 

"  I  don't  see  that 't  is,"  said  Jack.  "  Where  would  I 
have  been  now,  do  you  think,  if  it  had  n't  been  for 
you  I " 

Peggy  Pitcher  burst  out  laughing.  She  sat  down  on 
a  chair  just  behind  her.  "  Why,  I  don't  know,"  she 
said,  "  and  that 's  the  truth.  'T  is  like  you  'd  been  in  a 
pretty  bad  way.  His  honor  was  hot  ag'in'  you,  just  then, 
I  can  tell  you."     She  became  suddenly  serious.     "  I  tell 


396  JACK  BALLISTEE'S   FOETUNES 

you  what  't  is,  Master  Jack,"  she  said,  "  things  are  not 
going  well  with  him  just  now,  and  he  's  a  good,  kind 
man,  too,  when  he  chooses  to  be  so.  Do  you  remember 
Master  Binderly,  who  used  to  come  here,  blustering 
about  his  money?" 

"  Yes,"  said  Jack,  "  I  do.  And  how  you  said  you  'd 
pour  hot  water  upon  him  if  he  did  n't  go  away." 

Again  Peggy  burst  out  laughing,  and  slapped  her 
palm  upon  her  knee.  "  Ay,"  she  said,  "  so  I  did,  to  be 
sure.  Well,  he  's  been  pestering  about  here  a  deal,  of 
late,  and  I  do  suppose  that 's  why  his  honor  's  away  so 
much.    He  's  been  away  now  for  two  weeks." 

Just  then  he  heard  Mr.  Simms  calling  him  outside. 
"  Master  Jack !  Master  Jack ! " 

"  There,"  said  Jack,  "  I  must  go  now.  I  '11  try  to  see 
you  some  time  again,  Mrs.  Pitcher,"  and  he  gave  her 
his  hand. 

"  Well,"  said  Peggy  Pitcher,  as  she  rose,  and  took 
Jack's  hand,  "  I  did  n't  think  I  was  helping  you  into 
such  good  luck  when  I  helped  you  to  get  away  that 
night." 

"  Nor  I  did  n't,  either,"  said  Jack. 

Something,  he  could  n't  tell  what,  brought  the  thought 
of  Nelly  Parker  into  his  mind,  and  he  felt  a  quick 
fullness  of  happiness  that  seemed  suddenly  to  brim  his 
heart  more  than  full. 

"Good-by,  Mrs.  Pitcher,"  he  said,  and  again  he 
pressed  Peggy's  hand. 

"  I  've  been  hunting  all  over  the  place  for  you,"  said 
Mr.  Simms,  testily,  when  Jack  came  out  of  the  house. 

Jack  almost  never  enjoyed  himself  so  much  as  he  did 
those  three  or  four  days  while  he  was  at  Jamestown. 
Lieutenant  Maynard  appeared  to  be  very  glad  to  see 
him,  and  welcomed  him  with  great  heartiness.  Almost 
from  the  beginning  of  their  acquaintance  he  had  dubbed 


JACK   MEETS   SOME   OLD   FKIENDS  397 

Jack  "  My  hero,"  and  he  began  caUing  him  so  now  when 
they  met  again.  "  Well,  my  hero,"  he  cried  out,  as  he 
came  aboard  the  schooner  from  the  man-of-war's  boat, 
carrying  his  arm  in  a  sling,  "  and  how  do  you  do  by 
now  f  Well,  your  old  friend,  Blackbeard,  has  got  his 
quietus.  Look  ye  here,  d'  ye  see,  he  left  me  a  remem- 
brance before  he  went,"  and  he  held  out  his  bandaged 
hand  so  that  Jack  might  see  it.  "  A  great  big  cutlass 
slash  across  the  knuckles,"  he  said. 

"  I  hear  the  pirates  are  all  in  jail  over  at  Williams- 
burgh,"  said  Jack. 

"Ay,"  said  the  lieutenant,  "and  it  was  lucky  for 
you  that  you  ran  away  in  time,  or  else  you  might  be 
there,  too."    And  then  Jack  burst  out  laughing. 

The  lieutenant  introduced  Jack  to  his  brother  officers 
of  the  "Lyme,"  and  Jack  often  went  aboard  of  the 
man-of-war,  sometimes  to  take  breakfast,  and  nearly 
always  to  dinner.  The  officers  all  seemed  to  like  him, 
and  once  Captain  St.  Clare  entertained  him  over  a 
bottle  of  Madeira  for  nearly  an  hour  in  the  cabin.  The 
life  aboard  the  man-of-war  was  very  new  to  Jack, 
and  he  never  lost  the  vividness  of  his  interest  in  the 
charm  of  the  wide,  long  decks,  so  immaculately  clean ; 
in  the  towering  masts,  the  maze  of  rigging,  the  long, 
double  row  of  cannon,  in  the  life  that  swarmed  above 
and  below — the  sailors,  the  marines,  the  sentinels  pac- 
ing up  and  down,  with  every  now  and  then  a  spark- 
ling glint  of  the  sun  on  musket-barrel  or  brass  trim- 
mings of  accoutrements. 

It  was  a  great  pleasure  and  gratification  to  him  to  be 
made  so  much  of  aboard  the  great  man-of-war,  and  he 
was  with  his  new  friends  nearly  all  the  time.  There 
were  wild,  rollicking  blades  among  them  —  men  sea- 
soned to  the  wickedness  of  the  world,  who  would  some- 
times sing  songs  and  tell  stories  after  dinner  that  were 
not  always  fitted  for  a  young  boy's  ears.     One  hand- 


398  JACK   BALLISTEK'S   FORTUNES 

some  rattle-brained  young  fellow  in  particular,  who 
seemed  to  take  a  peculiar  liking  to  Jack,  was  full  of 
jests  and  quips,  that,  though  they  made  Jack  laugh, 
were  hardly  suitable  for  him  to  listen  to.  But  Jack's 
nature  was  of  too  honest  and  too  robust  a  sort  to  offer 
ground  for  any  pruriency  of  thought  to  cling  very 
closely  to. 

On  the  second  or  third  day  of  his  stay  at  Jamestown, 
he  and  Lieutenant  Maynard  went  over  to  Williams- 
burgh  together,  to  \dsit  the  pirate  prisoners  in  the  jail 
at  that  place.  As  soon  as  they  had  obtained  the  permit 
they  went  straight  to  the  prison,  and  were  admitted  by 
the  tm-nkey  to  the  round-house  in  which  the  pii'ates 
were  confined. 

They  were  all  crowded  into  the  one  room — the 
wounded  and  the  unwounded  together.  At  first.  Jack 
could  hardly  bear  the  heavy,  fetid  smell  of  the  place, 
but  the  prisoners  themselves  appeared  altogether  un- 
conscious of  it.  There  was  quite  a  number  of  them 
who  had  been  hurt  and  who  now  lay  there  uncared  for 
in  their  sufferings ;  one  man,  with  a  cloth  tied  around 
his  head,  looked  very  pale  and  ill,  and  another  lay  with 
his  face  to  the  wall,  perfectly  silent  all  the  time  that 
Jack  was  there. 

"  Why,  't  is  Jack  Ballister ! "  cried  one  of  the  men  as 
soon  as  he  had  come  in  at  the  door.  It  was  Ned  Bolles 
who  spoke  —  the  young  fellow  of  about  Jack's  age  who 
had  been  shot  in  the  shoulder  when  the  pirates  took  the 
French  barque.  Then  :  "  Why,  Jack,"  he  said,  "  what  a 
fine,  grand  gentleman  you  are,  to  be  sure ! " 

Jack  laughed.  They  all  crowded  around  him  except 
Hands  and  the  man  with  the  wounded  head,  and  the 
other  who  lay  motionless  with  his  face  turned  toward 
the  wall.  Hands  sat  in  a  corner  upon  the  floor  smoking 
his  pipe,  his  lame  leg  stretched  out  perfectly  straight 
before  him.     He  spoke  no  word  of  especial  greeting  to 


JACK   MEETS   SOME   OLD   FRIENDS  399 

the  visitor.  All  of  the  prisoners  were  handcuffed  and 
wore  leg-irons.  Some  had  wrapped  rags  around  the 
shackles  to  protect  their  ankles  and  wrists  from  being 
rubbed  by  the  rough  iron.  They  all  seemed  very  glad 
to  see  Jack ;  apj)arently  glad  of  any  change  in  the  mo- 
notony of  their  imprisonment. 

"Well,  Jack,"  said  one  of  the  men,  named  Dick 
Stiles,  "  I  tell  'ee  what  't  is,  'ee  be  lucky  to  be  here 
now  alive  and  well.  'T  was  a  nigh  miss  for  'ee  when 
'ee  got  int'  t'  inlet  ahead  of  us.  If  'ee  'd  been  a  minute 
later  'ee  never  'a'  got  oot  t'  be  here  now." 

"  So  poor  Chris  Dred  is  dead,  is  he  f "  another  called 
out. 

"  Ay,"  said  Jack,  "  you  did  the  business  for  him." 

"Well,  Jack,"  said  one  of  the  men,  "you  fell  into 
your  fortune  when  you  got  away.  I  suppose  you  '11 
be  marrying  her  young  ladyship  next,  won't  you  I" 

They  all  burst  out  laughing.  Jack  laughed  too ;  but 
he  knew  that  he  was  blushing,  and  was  conscious  that 
Lieutenant  Maynard  was  standing  at  the  door,  listen- 
ing to  what  was  said. 

"  I  tell  you  what  't  is.  Jack,"  said  one  of  the  men ; 
"you  be  such  a  grand,  great  gentleman  now,  you 
ought  to  speak  a  good  word  for  your  old  friends.  They 
says  our  trial  is  to  come  off  next  week,  and  you  ought 
to  ax  for  our  pardon  of  your  new  friend  the  governor, 
for  old  times'  sake,"  and  then  they  all  began  laughing. 

"  Hands  says  he  knows  summat  '11  save  his  own  neck," 
said  a  voice. 

"  Ay,"  said  Hands,  from  where  he  sat  on  the  floor, 
"  they  dare  n't  hang  me.  I  know  what  I  know,  and  they 
won't  harm  me.     I  'm  not  afraid  of  that." 

It  seemed  very  strange  to  Jack  that  they  should  appear 
to  think  so  little  of  their  approaching  trial  and  the  inevi- 
table result  that  must  follow.  They  must  all  know  that 
there  could  be  but  one  end  to  it,  for  the  governor  was 


400  JACK  BALLISTEK'S   FOETUNES 

determined  to  make  an  example  of  them  for  the  benefit 
of  all  other  would-be  pn*ates;  they  seemed  to  think 
more  of  the  dullness  of  their  present  imprisonment 
than  anything  else. 

"  Lookee,  Jack,"  one  of  them  said,  "  do  you  have  any 
money  about  ye !  Just  tuppence  or  so  to  buy  a  twist 
of  'baccy ;  I  ha'n't  had  a  smoke  for  two  days  now."  It 
was  the  young  fellow  BoUes  who  spoke. 

"  I  've  got  sixpence  here,"  said  Jack,  "  and  that 's  all. 
But  you're  welcome  to  it." 

"You  would  n't  give  it  all  to  Bolles,  would  you?"  said 
Salter.      "  He  's  no  worse  off  than  the  rest  on  us  be." 

As  they  walked  away  up  the  street  together,  Lieu- 
tenant Maynard  asked  him  what  it  was  Hands  meant 
when  he  spoke  to  him. 

"  What  do  you  mean  I "  said  Jack ;  "I  don't  remember 
what  he  said." 

"  Well,"  said  the  lieutenant,  "  the  talk  is  that  he  hath 
been  proclaiming  to  every  one  that  the  governor  shall 
never  hang  him,  and  that  he  knows  something  concern- 
ing Colonel  Parker  that  will  save  his  neck,  and  that  they 
will  never  dare  to  hang  him." 

"  Does  he  say  that  f "  said  Jack.  "  Ay,  I  do  remem- 
ber now  what  he  said  to  me,  though  I  did  n't  think  of 
it  at  the  time.  But  he  knows  naught  about  Colonel 
Parker  —  't  is  about  Mr.  Eichard  Parker." 

"About  Mr.  Richard  Parker!"  said  the  lieutenant. 
"  Do  you  know  what  it  is,  then  I   What  is  it.  Jack  ? " 

Jack  hesitated  for  a  second  or  two.  "  I  don't  believe 
I  ought  to  tell  you  anything  about  it,"  he  said.  "  I  don't 
believe  Colonel  Parker  would  choose  to  have  me  say 
anything  about  it  to  you." 

" Nonsense ! "  said  Lieutenant  Maynard.  "Why  should 
you  not  tell  me  I  I  '11  not  speak  about  it  to  a  living  soul. 
What  hath  Mr.  Richard  Parker  been  about  ? " 

Then  Jack  told  him. 


JACK   MEETS   SOME   OLD   FKIENDS  401 

The  lieutenant  was  listening  very  silently  and  intently 
as  he  walked  along.  "  Why,  what  a  thing  do  you  tell 
me  I "  he  cried  out.  "  Of  course,  if  that  villain  Hands 
knew  aught  like  this  conspiracy  of  Mr.  Richard  Parker's 
he  has  reason  enough  to  believe  that  Colonel  Parker 
won't  choose  to  have  it  known.  I  always  misliked  Dick 
Parker ;  but  what  a  prodigious  rascal  he  must  be !  'T  is 
incredible  that  one  born  a  gentleman  could  be  such  a 
villain  as  that.  But  I  tell  you  what  it  is,  Master  Jack, 
this  is  a  mightily  serious  secret  that  you  have.  You  'd 
best  keep  it  tight  locked  in  your  own  bosom  and  say 
naught  of  it  to  any  living  soul." 

As  the  lieutenant  s]3oke,  a  heavy  feeling  fell  sud- 
denly upon  Jack  that  he  had  been  very  foolish  to  speak 
to  such  a  comparative  stranger  as  the  lieutenant  about 
such  a  thing.  He  walked  on  in  silence,  suifering  that 
singularly  bitter  feeling  that  we  have  maybe  all  of  us 
sometimes  smarted  under — a  feeling  that  we  have  be- 
trayed a  friend's  secret  to  a  stranger. 

He  was  destined  to  feel  still  more  uncomfortable  about 
it  in  time.  For  almost  immediately  upon  his  return  to 
Marlborough  he  was  called  into  Colonel  Parker's  pri- 
vate cabinet.  Colonel  Parker  had  just  received  a  packet 
from  Williamsburgh  the  day  before — a  long  letter  from 
Grovernor  Spottiswood,  inclosing  a  statement  from 
Hands,  and  he  began  at  once,  almost  as  soon  as  Jack 
had  come  into  the  room,  to  speak  about  what  he  had  in 
his  mind.  "  Tell  me,"  he  said,  "  do  you  know  aught  of 
how  Nelly  came  to  be  taken  away  from  Marlborough  ? " 

"  What  do  you  mean,  sir  ? "  said  Jack,  and  then  his 
heart  began  beating.  He  knew  very  well  what  Colonel 
Parker  referred  to. 

"  I  mean,"  said  Colonel  Parker,  "  do  you  know  aught 
of  who  't  was  put  this  pirate  Blackbeard  up  to  carrying 
poor  Nelly  away  ?  Did  he  do  it  of  his  own  free  will,  or 
did  you  hear  that  any  one  set  him  to  do  it  ? " 

26 


i02  JACK   BALLISTER'S   FORTUNES 

Jack  hesitated,  then  he  said,  "Yes,  sir;  I  did  hear 
there  was  somebody  jDut  him  up  to  doing  it." 

"  What  did  yon  hear  ?  "  said  Colonel  Parker.  "  Come, 
speak  out  plain,  and  tell  me  just  what  you  know." 

"  Well,"  said  Jack,  "  't  was  said  down  there  at  Bath 
Town, —  that  is,  by  those  who  came  to  see  the  pirate  at 
his  house, —  't  was  said  that  —  that  Mr.  Eichard  Parker 
knew  about  Miss  Nelly's  having  been  taken  away.  I 
don't  know  anything  about  it  myself,  but  that  was 
what  they  all  said.  I  know  that  Blackbeard  writ  three 
or  four  letters  to  Mr.  Parker  while  the  young  lady  was 
there,  and  I  heard  them  say  again  and  again  that  Mr. 
Parker  knew  that  she  had  been  taken  away  from  home 
and  whither  she  had  been  taken,  and  that  he  was  con- 
cerned in  it." 

Colonel  Parker  was  leaning  with  his  elbow  upon  the 
table,  and  his  fingers  against  his  forehead.  He  was 
looking  very  steadily  and  silently  at  Jack.  He  did  not 
speak  for  a  long  time  after  Jack  had  ended.  "  Well," 
he  said,  at  last,  "  what  then  ?  What  else  do  you  know  ?  " 
And  Jack  resumed : 

"I  heard  Blackbeard  say  over  and  over  again  that 
it  was  Mr.  Parker  had  planned  how  she  should  be 
taken,  and  that  he  was  to  get  you  to  pay  for  bringing 
her  back  again.  Mr.  Knight  the  secretary  wiit  three 
or  four  letters,  too,  and  sent  'em  to  Mr.  Parker,  and  't 
was  said  that  Mr.  Parker  was  to  show  the  letters  to  you. 
But  no  answer  could  be  got  to  any  of  them.  Then,  by 
and  by,  they  all  began  to  think  that  maybe  he  —  Mr. 
Parker,  that  is — intended  that  she  should  n't  come  back 
again  at  all." 

"  Are  you  sure  of  all  this  you  're  telling  me  ? "  said 
Colonel  Parker. 

"  I  am  sure  that  was  what  I  heard,"  Jack  said.  "  'T  was 
talked  about  there  in  the  house  betwixt  Blackbeard  and 
the  others  just  as  things  are  talked  about  in  a  house. 


JACK   MEETS   SOME   OLD   FRIENDS  403 

They  did  n't  try  to  hide  the  matter  or  keep  it  a  secret 
from  me,  but  talked  about  it  always  as  if  't  were  so." 

Again  Colonel  Parker  sat  in  silence,  and  Jack,  as  he 
stood  there,  Avished  and  wished  —  oh,  with  what  pangs 
of  bitter  self-reproach !  —  that  he  had  not  said  anything 
to  Lieutenant  Maynard  about  it.  He  wondered  with 
hea\^^  apprehension  what  Colonel  Parker  would  say  if 
he  knew  that  he  had  told  such  a  secret  to  such  a 
stranger  as  the  lieutenant.  Then  suddenly  Colonel  Par- 
ker spoke.  "  Well,"  he  said,  "  you  can  see  for  yourself 
without  my  telling  you  that  naught  must  be  said  of  all 
this  —  no,  not  to  a  hving  soul.     Do  you  understand  ? " 

"  Yes,  sir,"  said  Jack,  weakly. 

"  Very  well,"  said  Colonel  Parker.  "  Remember,  my 
boy,  that  you  have  in  your  bosom  a  very  di'eadf  ul  secret 
that  involves  the  credit  of  the  whole  of  our  family,  and 
that  you  must  not  speak  of  it  to  a  li^^ng  soul." 

It  may  be  said  here  that  the  lieutenant  did  not  be- 
tray Jack's  secret  —  or,  at  least,  it  never  came  to  Jack's 
ears  that  he  had  done  so.  It  may  also  be  briefly  said 
that  Hands  was  jDardoned  by  Grovernor  Spottiswood,  and 
that  in  a  little  less  than  a  month  later  Mr.  Richard 
Parker  ran  away  from  Virginia  —  it  was  said  from  his 
debts  —  to  Jamaica. 


CHAPTER   XLIX 


THE   DEPAKTUBE 


THE  Attorney  Burton  wi-ote  to  Colonel  Parker  almost 
immediately  upon  his  return  to  England.  He  said 
that  he  had  been  to  see  Master  Hezekiah  Tipton,  "  and 
if  I  had  dropped  from  the  stars  instead  of  walking  into 
his  office,"  he  wrote,  "  he  could  not  have  been  more 
amazed  to  see  me." 

After  that  he  wrote  frequently,  keeping  Colonel 
Parker  apj)rised  of  all  his  movements.  By  January,  he 
had  Jack's  affairs  so  far  settled  that  there  was  talk  of 
his  returning  to  England.  It  was  finally  arranged  with 
Hezekiah  Tipton  that  Jack  should  go  to  live  at  Grramp- 
ton  with  Sir  Henry  Ballister,  and  a  sufficient  sum  for 
his  maintenance  was  extorted  from  the  old  man.  It  was 
also  arranged  that  he  should  be  given  such  an  educa- 
tion as  befitted  his  rank  in  the  world. 

Finally,  March  was  settled  ujDon  as  the  date  of 
Jack's  departure.  During  that  month  the  "  Richmond 
Castle,"  a  fine,  large  ship,  was  to  sail  for  England. 
Captain  Northam  was  one  in  whom  Colonel  Parker 
felt  every  confidence,  and  so  it  was  decided  that  Jack 
should  take  passage  in  that  vessel  from  Yorktown. 

As  the  time  for  departm'e  drew  nearer  and  nearer, 
there  was  that  ever  increasing  bustle  and  confu- 
sion of  preparation  that  always  culminates  with  such 
a  leave-taking.  Even  on  the  very  last  day  the  two 
sea-chests  did  not  seem  nearly  filled,  and  there  was  a 


404 


THE  DEPAKTUKE  405 

mountainous  heap  of  clothes  and  personal  belongings 
yet  waiting  to  be  packed  away  in  them.  The  negro 
women-servants  were  hurrying  continually  up  and  down 
stairs  upon  this  errand  and  upon  that,  and  there  was 
a  ceaseless  calling  and  countermanding  of  orders. 
Madam  Parker,  leaning  over  the  banister,  and  call- 
ing:— "Jack!  Jack!  Wliere  is  Jack?  Did  you  see 
Master  Jack,  Chloe ! " —  "  Iss,  missy.  Him  in  de  office 
with  hes  honor." —  "  Well,  run  and  ask  him  where  he 
put  those  two  lace  cravats  and  the  lawn  sleeves,  for  we 
can't  find  them  anywhere."  "Mamma,  mamma!"  this 
from  Nelly  Parker  from  the  room  within,  "if  that  is 
what  you  're  looking  for,  I  know  where  they  are ;  they 
were  put  into  the  little  chest.  I  saw  Dinah  pack  them 
there  this  morning," 

A  dozen  times  Madam  Parker  would  sink  down,  sud- 
denly relaxed,  into  a  chair,  to  say  that  she  was  that 
tired  with  all  this  hurry  that  her  feet  ached  to  the  bone, 
and  each  time  Nelly  Parker  would  say,  "  Why  do  you 
vex  yourself  so  much,  then,  mamma?  Surely  Dinah 
and  Rose  and  Chloe  are  enough  to  do  the  packing  with- 
out  your  wearing  yourself  out  at  it." 

"  But,  my  dear,"  Madam  Parker  would  say,  with  her 
nervous  fussiness,  "  if  I  don't  see  to  it  myself,  they  will 
never  get  it  done." 

Then  Chloe,  Madam  Parker's  own  maid,  came  to  say 
that  Robin  and  the  negro  man,  CaBsar,  were  waiting  to 
cord  the  boxes. 

"  Well,  they  '11  have  to  wait,"  said  Madam  Parker, 
crossly,  "for  they  're  not  ready  yet." 

"  They  might  cord  the  small  box,  mamma,"  said  Nelly 
Parker ;  "  we  can  pack  everything  else  in  the  other." 

Meantime,  Jack  was  sitting  with  Colonel  Parker,  who 
was  giving  him  his  last  instructions.  "I  have  them 
marked  down  here,"  he  said,  "  on  this  paper.  Keep  it 
carefully  by  you.     Nay ;  don't  trust  it  in  your  pocket 

27 


406  JACK  ballistee's  foktunes 

that  way.  Where  's  the  pocketbook  I  gave  you  yester- 
day to  keep  such  things  in  ? " 

"  I  left  it  np-stairs  on  the  table,  sir,"  said  Jack. 

"  You  should  always  carry  it  with  you,"  said  Colonel 
Parker,  "and  not  leave  it  about  in  that  way.  Well, 
put  the  memoranda  into  your  pocket,  now,  but  be  sure 
you  put  it  in  your  pocketbook  when  you  get  up-stairs." 

"  Yes,  sir,"  said  Jack. 

"  Here  's  a  letter  to  Captain  Northam,"  said  Colonel 
Parker.  "  Grive  it  to  him  as  soon  as  you  go  aboard  the 
"  Richmond  Castle,"  and  he  will  extend  very  particular 
care  to  you.  It  gives  him  full  instruction  as  to  all  he 
is  to  do  for  you.  When  you  get  to  G-ravesend  he  will 
send  you  up  as  far  as  Broadstairs  in  a  wherry,  and 
there  you  shall  get  a  hackney  coach  to  take  you  to  my 
agent  at  Snow  Hill.  Here  is  a  letter  to  him  and  a 
packet  —  Ebenezer  Bilton,  Esquire.  This  packet  of 
letters  you  shall  use  while  you  are  in  London  as  you 
need  them.  You  will  see  by  the  addresses  who  they  are 
for.  Here  is  this  large  packet  to  give  to  your  uncle.  You 
had  better  put  these  larger  packets  into  your  chests, 
but  carry  the  captain's  letter  in  your  pocket-book,  so 
you  may  give  it  to  him  as  soon  as  you  get  aboard." 

"  Yes,  sir,"  said  Jack. 

How  singularly  dull  and  blank  is  the  interval  of  wait- 
ing that  follows  all  rude  bustle  of  prejDaration  —  when 
the  boxes  have  been  corded  and  carried  away  down  to 
the  landing,  and  the  house  has  again  relapsed  into  its 
former  quietude,  and  yet  the  time  has  not  quite  come  to 
say  farewell.  There  is  something  singularly  trying  in 
that  period  of  passive  waiting. 

It  was  late  that  last  afternoon  at  Marlborough,  and 
Jack  and  Nelly  Parker  stood  at  the  window,  in  the  slant 
of  the  winter's  day,  looking  out  down  toward  the  land- 
ing. The  day  before  the  treacherous  March  weather 
had  turned  suddenly  back  to  winter  again,  and  it  had 


THE   DEPAETUKE  407 

snowed  nearly  all  day ;  now  the  slush  was  melting  rap- 
idly in  the  sun.  Everywhere  the  water  was  running, 
trickling,  the  drops  sparkling  in  the  bright  slanting- 
light  of  the  sinking  sun.  The  snow  stiU  lingered  in 
wide  white  patches  here  and  there  in  sheltered  places  of 
the  grass;  but  on  the  pathway  and  on  the  steps  of 
the  house  it  had  dissolved  into  a  wet,  thin  sheet  of 
half-frozen  slush.  She  was  very  silent  as  she  stood 
there  looking  out  toward  the  river  beyond  the  screen 
of  winter  trees. 

"  I  wonder  how  much  you  will  miss  me ! "  Jack  said. 

She  turned  and  looked  directly  at  him,  but  she  did 
not  reply  in  words. 

"  I  shall  miss  you,"  he  said.  "  I  can't  tell  how  much 
I  shall  miss  you.  I  shall  be  thinking  about  you  all  the 
time." 

"Will  you,  Jack?" 

"  Yes,  I  shall.     "Will  vou  often  think  about  me  ? " 

"Indeed  I  shall."  Then  she  suddenly  reached  out 
her  hand  toward  him,  and  he  took  it  and  held  it  in 
his,  and  she  let  it  remain  there.  It  seemed  to  him  that 
he  could  hardly  breathe,  and  as  she  stood  there,  per- 
fectly still,  with  her  hand  in  his,  he  could  see  her  inno- 
cent bosom  rising  and  falling  with  her  own  labored 
heavy  breathing. 

"  Will  you  miss  me  ? "  he  said,  at  last,  almost  whis- 
pering. "  Will  you,  then,  miss  me  ?  I  '11  miss  you  —  oh, 
how  I  shallmiss  you !  " 

"  Yes,  I  '11  miss  you,"  she  whispered. 

She  stood  close  to  him.  Her  dress  and  her  arm 
touched  him,  and  he  thrilled  and  thrilled  again  and 
again.  It  was  upon  him  to  say  somewhat  of  that  which 
so  swelled  his  bosom,  but  the  words  hung  like  lead  on 
his  lips,  and  his  heart  beat  so  strenuously  that  he  could 
hardly  breathe.  She  did  not  withdraw  her  hand  from 
his  as  she  stood  there. 


408  JACK  ballistee's  foetuxes 

Then  suddenly  there  was  the  sound  of  some  one 
coming,  and  she  snatched  her  hand  away  from  him.  It 
was  Madam  Parker.  "Why,  Jack,"  she  said,  "I  've 
been  looking  for  you  everywhere.  What  are  you  doing 
here  ?  "  and  she  looked  from  one  to  the  other. 

"  Doing  1 "  said  Jack,  stupidly.  "  I  'm  not  doing  any- 
thing." And  Nelly  Parker  moved  away  from  the 
window. 

"  Colonel  Parker  wants  to  see  you  in  his  room  for  a 
minute,"  said  Madam  Parker.  "  You  'd  better  go  right 
away."  And  if  she  thought  of  anything  that  had  passed, 
she  said  nothing  concerning  it. 

Jack  did  not  find  a  chance  to  speak  to  Nelly  Parker 
again  that  night  until  the  very  last  minute  before  she 
went  away  to  bed.  She  seemed  to  him  to  avoid  even 
looking  at  him.  She  sat  very  silently  beside  her  fa- 
ther, listening  to  what  he  said,  but  saying  nothing  her- 
self. She  went  to  bed  before  the  others,  the  negro 
waiting-woman  standing  at  the  door  holding  the  candle. 
Then  she  gave  Jack  her  hand.  Her  father  and  mother 
were  looking  on.  "  Grood-night,"  she  said ;  "  and  't  will 
be  good-by."  And  then  she  raised  her  eyes,  and  looked 
slowly  and  steadily  at  him. 

Jack  held  her  hand,  remembering  strongly  what  had 
passed  that  afternoon. 

"  And  will  you  not  wake  to  see  me  off  in  the  morn- 
ing ?  "  he  said.     He  was  still  holding  her  hand. 

"  Maybe  I  will." 

•'  You  will  —  I  know  you  will." 

"  Why,  Jack,  you  '11  be  off  before  we  're  awake,"  said 
Colonel  Parker.  "You  '11  have  started  before  seven 
o'clock."    And  then  she  went  away. 

Jack  was  awakened  by  the  rattle  of  the  latch  and 
the  echoing  footsteps  of  some  one  coming  into  his 
room,  and  the  sliding  light  of  a  candle  shining  across 
the  walls  and  then  down  into  his  face.     It  was  Colonel 


■THKN"    I    WILL    COJIK,-     SAID    ilK, 


THE  DEPAETURE  409 

Parker's  serving-man,  Robin,  who  had  come,  bringing 
a  lighted  candle  and  a  jug  of  hot  water.  "You  must 
get  up.  Master  Jack,"  he  said,  "  't  is  six  o'clock." 

Even  in  the  moment  of  first  awakening  from  sleep 
into  which  he  had  brokenly  drifted  the  night  before, 
he  was  conscious  of  something  portentous  looming  in 
the  background  of  the  coming  day;  but  he  could  not 
in  the  first  instant  seize  upon  the  coming  events  of  his 
life.  Then  it  came  to  him  with  a  flash,  and  he  sprang 
out  of  bed  upon  the  cold  floor  and  into  the  chill  of  the 
dark  and  wintry  room.  The  time  had  come  for  him  to 
depart. 

Robin  helped  him  as  he  dressed  with  chattering 
teeth  and  numb,  cold  fingers.  "  The  boat  's  all  ready 
and  waiting.  Master  Jack,"  the  man  said,  "  and  they  '11 
start  as  soon  as  you  've  eaten  your  breakfast  and  go 
aboard." 

"  'T  is  mightily  cold  this  morning,  Robin,"  Jack  said. 

*'  Ay ;  't  is  a  freezing  morning,  sir,"  said  the  man. 

Presently  Jack  asked,  "  Is  Miss  Nelly  up  yet  ?  " 

"Miss  Nelly!"  said  Robin,  in  very  evident  surprise. 
"Why,  Master  Jack,  she  won't  be  up  for  three  hours 
yet." 

"  I  thought  maybe  she  'd  be  up  to  see  me  off,"  Jack 
said,  in  a  sort  of  foolish  explanation. 

He  found  a  solitary  breakfast  spread  out  for  him 
down-stairs  by  the  light  of  a  cluster  of  candles,  and 
he  sat  down  and  began  immediately  to  eat,  waited  on 
by  Robin  and  a  negro  man.  All  the  great  spaces  were 
chill  and  raw  with  frost  of  the  winter  morning.  Jack's 
fingers  were  still  stiff  with  cold,  and  his  breath  blew 
out  like  a  cloud  in  the  light  of  the  candles.  He  ate 
his  meal  with  an  ever  heavier  and  heavier  certainty 
that  Nelly  Parker  would  not  be  awake  to  see  him  off. 
As  the  certainty  grew  upon  him  there  seemed  to  be 
something  singularly  heartless  in    such  neglect.     He 


410  JACK  BALLISTER'S  FORTUNES 

would  uever  have  so  treated  her,  and  at  the  thought 
a  sudden  anger  arose  within  him  against  her.  Then 
it  occuiTed  to  him  with  a  fading  hope  that  maybe  she 
might  be  in  the  library  or  drawing-room  waiting  for 
him.  He  finished  his  scant  breakfast  and  went  thither, 
out  across  the  hall;  but  there  was  no  one  there  but 
the  negro  man  making  a  fire  of  logs,  the  smoke  rising 
in  great  volumes  from  the  kindled  lightwood,  part  of 
it  coming  out  into  the  room,  and  filling  it  with  a  pun- 
gent cloud.  The  wide,  cold  spaces  seemed  singularly 
empty  and  deserted  of  their  accustomed  life.  As  he 
stood,  lingering,  some  one  came  across  the  hall ;  it  was 
Robin,  and  he  was  carrying  the  overcoats.  "  They  're 
waiting  for  you  at  the  landing.  Master  Jack,"  he  said. 

Then  Jack,  with  a  crumbling  away  of  the  heart,  knew 
for  a  certainty  that  he  was  not  to  see  her  again. 

Robin  held  the  overcoat  for  him,  and  he  slipped  his 
arms  into  it,  and  then  he  went  out  of  the  house  and 
down  toward  the  landing.  The  sun  had  not  yet  risen, 
and  the  air  of  the  morning  was  keen  with  the  cold  and 
frozen  newness  of  the  day.  Here  and  there,  where  the 
sodden  snow  of  yesterday  had  not  all  melted  away,  it 
had  frozen  again  into  slippery  sheets  that  crunched 
beneath  his  tread.  He  turned  and  looked  back  toward 
the  house.  He  could  see  her  room ;  it  was  closed  and 
dark.  Then  he  turned  again  and  walked  on  once  more 
toward  the  landing,  his  breath  coming  thick  and  hot 
in  his  throat.  To  think  that  she  would  not  come  to  bid 
him  good-by  before  he  went  away ! 

The  boat  was  waiting  for  him,  and  the  sailing-master 
stood  upon  the  wharf,  swinging  and  slapping  his  arms. 
Jack  climbed  down  into  it,  and  the  other  followed  him. 
The  men  shoved  it  off  with  a  push  of  their  oars,  and 
then  began  rowing  away  toward  the  schooner,  where  a 
light  still  hung  in  the  stays,  burning  pallidly  in  the  in- 
creasing daylight.     Then  they  were  aboard. 


THE   DEPAETUEE  411 

Jack  went  down  into  the  cabin,  still  gray  with  the 
early  light.  Both  his  chests  were  there  and  his  two 
bundles,  and  he  sat  down  among  them,  overwhelmed. 
By  and  by  he  came  np  on  deck  again.  They  were  out 
and  away  in  the  river  now.  The  sun  had  just  risen,  and 
the  red  light  lit  up  the  front  of  the  gi'eat  house,  now 
standing  out  clear  through  the  leafless  trees.  Jack 
stood  holding  to  the  stays,  looking  out  at  it,  and  his 
eyes  blurred,  and  for  a  moment  everything  was  lost  to 
his  sight.  She  had  not  come  to  bid  him  good-by';  that 
was  the  bitterest  pang  of  all. 


CHAPTER   L 


THE   EETUKN 


JACK  wrote  back  to  Marlborough  from  Jamestown, 
and  again  from  Yorktown  just  before  he  sailed — let- 
ters full  of  homesickness  and  of  longing.  Perhaps  the 
most  unhappy  hom's  of  his  life  were  those  one  or  two 
when,  from  the  poop-deck  of  the  great  ship,  he  saw 
the  bluffs  of  Yorktown  fall  further  and  further  astern 
while,  one  after  another,  the  great  square  sails  high 
overhead  burst  out  to  the  swift  cold  wind  that  hummed 
away  to  the  eastward,  driving  the  water  in  white-capped 
ridges  before  it.  He  sensed  nothing  of  the  windy  glory 
of  that  morning ;  he  was  so  full  of  the  heavy  weight 
of  his  melancholy  that  he  could  not  stand  still  for  a 
minute,  but  walked  up  and  down,  up  and  down  the 
deck  continually,  his  soul  full  to  overflowing  with  that 
deep,  yearning  passion  of  homesickness.  A  number 
of  passengers  —  two  ladies  —  one  young  and  one  old 
—  and  half  a  dozen  gentlemen  also  stood  gazing  out  at 
the  shore  as  it  fell  away  behind ;  yet  it  seemed  to  Jack 
that,  in  spite  of  such  companionship,  he  was  more 
alone  than  ever  he  had  been  in  all  of  his  life  before. 
How  different  were  those  other  feelings  when,  six 
weeks  later,  he  stood  with  his  fellow  passengers  (now 
grown  into  so  many  intimate  friends)  and  watched  the 
distant  cliff-walls  of  England  rising  up,  ever  higher  and 
higher,  out  of  the  ocean !  Even  six  weeks  of  time  may 
cure  those  i^angs  of  homesickness  and  of  love-longings 
in  a  young  and  wholesome  heart. 


412 


THE   RETUEN  413 

The  week  that  followed  was  one  of  such  continued 
bustle  and  change  that  no  part  of  it  had  time  to  really 
come  close  enough  to  him  to  be  firmly  united  to  his 
life.  The  Thames ;  the  journey  from  Glravesend ;  Lon- 
don, its  different  people  and  different  scenes ;  the  long 
northward  journey  in  the  coach  —  all  these  were  mere 
broken  fragments  of  events  without  any  coherency  of 
ordinary  sequence.     Then  at  last  he  was  at  G-rampton. 

It  was  a  fine  and  stately  old  place,  with  an  air  of 
quality  such  as  he  had  never  known  before  —  a  great 
brick  house,  of  old  King  James's  day,  with  long  wings 
and  ivy-covered  gables;  with  halls  and  passageways, 
with  wide  terraced  lawn,  with  gardens  and  deeply- 
wooded  park. 

That  first  moment  of  his  arrival,  he  felt  singularly 
lonely  as  he  stood  in  the  great  wainscoted  hall,  looking 
about  him  at  the  pictures  on  the  walls,  the  l^its  of  armor, 
the  stag's  antlers,  the  tall,  stiff,  carved  fmiiiture.  It  was 
all  ever  so  much  greater  and  grander  than  he  had  an- 
ticipated, and  he  felt  himself  altogether  out  of  place 
and  a  stranger  in  it.  Then  his  uncle  came  hm-rying  to 
meet  him  and  gave  him  a  very  kind  and  hearty  welcome 
to  Grampton. 

He  had  been  settled  in  England  for  over  a  month 
before  he  heard  from  Virginia.  Then  there  came  a 
great  packet  of  letters  all  together ;  a  fat,  bulky  letter 
from  Colonel  Parker,  one  from  Madam  Parker,  one 
from  Lieutenant  Mayuard,  and  a  very  long  letter  from 
Nelly  Parker. 

He  held  this  last  for  a  long  time  in  his  hands  before 
he  opened  it,  recognizing,  as  he  sat  there,  how  greatly 
the  keenness  of  that  old  sweet  passion  had  become 
dulled  and  blunted  even  in  this  short  time.  He  felt  a 
sort  of  shame  that  it  should  be  so,  not  knowing  that  it 
always  is  thus. 

It  is  a  long  time  before  one  can  get  used  to  that 


414  JACK  BALLISTEE'S   FORTUNES 

strange  time-wearing  that  so  rubs  the  keen,  sharp  out- 
line of  passion  into  the  dim  and  indistinct  formlessness 
of  mere  memories;  sometimes  we  grow  gi'ay  before  we 
recognize  that  it  must  be  so,  and  even  then  we  wonder 
why  it  should  be. 

Then  he  opened  her  letter  and  read  it. 

"  We  have  had  a  great  deal  of  company  for  the  last 
two  weeks,"  said  a  fragment  of  the  letter.  "  There  was 
an  aunt  Polly  from  the  eastern  shore  of  the  bay  who 
brought  my  three  cosins  with  her.  And  then  my  uncle 
James  came  afterward  with  my  other  cosin,  a  boy  of 
thirteen  and  mightily  spoiled,  who  will  talk  at  table  and 
give  his  opinion  to  my  father,  who,  as  you  know,  can 
bare  no  man's  opinion  but  his  own,  much  less  a  boy's  of 
thirteen.  But  my  cosins  are  dear,  sweet  girls  whom  I 
have  not  seen  for  nigh  four  years,"  and  so  on  and  so  on. 
"  The  '  Lyme,' "  hath  come  back  from  Jamaca,  too,  and 
so  Mr.  Maynard  was  here  and  brought  two  young  gen- 
tlemen who  are  cadits  along  with  him.  You  know  them 
very  well,  for  they  are  Master  Delliplace  and  Master 
Monk.  And  so  everything  very  gay.  Well,  I  am  gay, 
too,  and  do  enjoy  myself,  but  indeed  think  oftener  than 
I  choose  to  tell  you  of  some  one  a  great  ways  off  in 
England."  And  here  Jack  felt  a  strong  yearning  toward 
the  wi'iter  of  the  innocent,  inconsequent  words.  There 
seemed  to  be  a  tender  pathos  even  in  the  misspelling 
here  and  there.  Continuing,  the  letter  said:  "Indeed 
and  indeed  I  was  truly  sorry  that  I  did  not  wake  to  see 
you  go  away,  for  so  I  did  entend  to  do,  and  so  I  ment 
to  tell  you  I  would  do.  And  indeed  I  could  have  boxed 
Cloe's  ears  that  she  did  not  wake  me,  for  so  she  prom- 
iessed  to  do.  But  she  did  not  wake  herself,  so  how  could 
she  wake  me  ?  I  did  not  wake  for  a  good  long  time 
after  the  boat  had  gone,  and  when  I  waked  the  boat  was 
way  down  the  river  at  the  bend.  Alack !  I  could  have 
cried  my  eyes  out.    Do  you  beleve  that  I    Well,  I  did 


THE  EETUEN  415 

cry,  and  that  not  a  little,  for  I  was  so  sorry  to  have  you 
gone  that  I  could  have  cried  my  eyes  out  for  a  week." 
Toward  the  end  of  the  letter  she  said:  "I  had  nigh  forgot 
to  tell  you  that  my  poor  uncle  Eichard  is  reported  dead. 
He  was  in  Jamaca,  and  Mr.  Maynard  says  he  was  shott, 
but  how,  he  could  not  tell.  So  now  the  Roost  is  to  be 
sold,  and  't  is  likely  that  papa  will  l3uy  it.  Yesterday 
he  said  to  mama,  'What  a  fine  thing  it  would  be  if 
Jack  could  buy  the  Roost  and  come  back  to  us  again,' 
for  indeed  it  is  a  fine  plantation.  And  oh,  I  wish  you 
could  buy  the  Roost." 

After  Jack  had  finished  reading  the  letter  he  sat 
thinking  a  long  time.  Would  he  ever  go  back  to  Vir- 
ginia again  ?  As  he  sat  there,  he  felt  a  sudden  longing 
for  it  —  its  warm  wildness,  its  pine  woods,  its  wide 
stretches  of  inland  waters  —  and  while  the  feeling  was 
strong  within  him,  he  sat  down  and  wrote  to  her.  "  It  is 
all  very  fine  here" — he  said,  "a  great,  grand  house, 
with  a  wide  park  of  trees,  and  a  la^vn  with  terraces  and 
stone  steps,  and  a  great  garden  all  laid  out  in  patterns 
and  scrolls,  with  box  bushes  and  hedges  trimmed  into 
shapes  of  peacocks  and  round  balls  and  what  not."  And 
so  on  in  a  page  or  so  of  description.  "  My  uncle  is  as 
kind  as  ever  he  can  be,  only  —  I  will  tell  you  this  in 
secret  —  he  will  drink  too  much  wine  at  dinner,  and 
then  sometimes  is  cross.  Well,  he  is  a  dear,  good,  kind 
man,  and  almost  like  a  father  to  me.  My  Aunt  Diana 
is  kind  to  me,  too,  and  my  cousins  —  dear,  good,  sweet 
girls — do  all  they  can  to  make  me  haj^py.  Yet  I  always 
think  of  Virginia,  and  more  than  all  else,  when  I  am 
thinking  of  it,  do  I  think  of  one  who  stood  with  me  at 
the  window  the  last  day  I  was  there,  and  wish  I  were 
there  to  see  her  again.  Ay,  sometimes  I  would  give  all 
I  have  in  the  world  if  I  could  only  be  back  again."  It 
was  a  great  pleasure  for  him  to  write  this,  and  as  he 
wrote  it  his  heart  warmed  and  thrilled  again.    "  Indeed, 


416  JACK  BALLISTEE'S   FOKTUNES 

I  did  look  for  you  that  morning  I  went  away,"  he 
wrote,  "  for  I  hoped  to  say  good-by  to  you  again  when 
there  was  no  one  by  to  hear  me  say  it.  But  you  did 
not  come,  and  I  went  away  so  sad  and  broken-hearted 
that  I  could  almost  have  cried.  I  was  so  sad  that  I 
would  have  given  all  the  world  to  be  back  again. 

''  My  uncle,"  he  wi'ote,  "intends  that  I  shall  go  to  Cam- 
bridge College,  and  so  I  study  all  day  long  with  a  tutor. 
But  methinks  I  am  slow  and  dull  at  learning,  except- 
ing Latin  and  Grreek,  which  my  poor  father  taught  me 
when  I  was  a  boy,  and  which  I  know  nigh  as  well  as 
my  tutor  himself.  That  I  know  perhaps  in  some  places 
better  than  he.  But  yet,  if  I  could  help  it,  I  would  not 
go  to  Cambridge  College,  but  would  go  back  to  Vir- 
ginia again.  Yet  what  can  I  do  ?  It  is  four  years,  now, 
till  I  come  of  age  and  enter  into  mine  own,  and  then  I 
can  come  and  go  as  I  please.  Do  you  not  believe  that 
it  will  please  me  to  go  straight  back  to  Virginia  I " 

He  sat  for  a  little  while  thinking,  and  then  he  wrote, 
"Whom,  think  you,  I  saw  a  short  while  ago? — whom 
but  Israel  Hands,  who  hath  come  back  to  England 
again.  He  found  me  out  where  I  was  living,  and  came 
here  begging.  I  did  not  know  him  at  first,  for  he  hath 
grown  a  great,  long  beard.  He  limps  with  the  knee, 
which  he  says  is  all  stiff  like  solid  bone,  and  that  he 
can  only  bend  it  —  as  indeed  he  showed  me  —  a  tiny  bit. 
He  hath  gi'own  mightily  poor  and  is  in  want.  My  uncle 
was  prodigiously  interested  in  him,  and  would  have  him 
up  in  his  cabinet  to  talk  with  him,  after  he  had  some- 
thing to  eat  and  some  beer  in  the  buttery.  I  gave  him 
some  money,  and  he  went  away  hajDpy.  My  uncle's 
man  said  that  he  was  drinking  down  in  the  village  that 
night,  and  so,  I  suppose,  spent  all  the  money  I  gave 
him, —  poor  wretch." 

Then,  thinking  of  another  matter,  he  wrote :  "  I  do 
not  think  I  told  you  aught  of  my  cousin  Edward.     He 


f  THE  KETUEN  417 

is  my  uncle's  son,  and  is  in  the  Guards  —  a  great,  tall, 
handsome  gentleman,  who  was  here  a  while  since  and 
was  very  kind  to  me ;  only  he  would  forever  tease  me 
by  calling  me  his  cousin  the  pirate,  and  would  ask  me  to 
show  him  my  pardon  before  he  would  own  me.  But  of 
coui'se  you  must  understand  all  this  in  jest." 

Jack  was  twenty  years  of  age  when  his  uncle  Heze- 
kiah  died.  The  old  man  left  a  great  fortune  of  over 
thirty  thousand  pounds,  a  part  of  which  was  invested 
in  a  large  tract  of  land  in  Virginia.  The  next  year 
Jack  left  college,  and  the  year  after,  in  the  following 
summer,  took  passage  to  America  to  look  after  his  prop- 
erty and  to  have  it  properly  sm'veyed.  Colonel  Parker, 
who  had  been  the  active  agent  in  the  purchase  of  the 
land,  invited  him  to  come  directly  to  Marlborough,  and 
Jack  gladly  accepted  the  invitation. 

It  seemed  very  wonderful  to  behold  with  the  li\T.ng 
eyes  those  old  familiar  places  once  more.  It  was  almost 
like  stepping  back  from  the  living  present  into  a  dim 
and  far-away  fragment  of  the  beautiful  past.  The  very 
schooner  that  met  him  at  Jamestown — how  familiar  it 
was !  It  seemed  to  him  that  he  remembered  every 
turn  of  the  scrollwork  in  the  little  cabin. 

They  passed  by  the  old  Roost  early  in  the  morning. 
It  stood  out  clear  and  clean  in  the  bright  light,  and  Jack 
stood  upon  deck  gazing,  gazing  at  it. 

How  full  of  associations  it  all  was !  and  yet  the  place 
was  very  much  changed.  The  roof  had  been  newly  re- 
paired, the  house  painted,  and  the  old  stables  were 
replaced  with  new  outbuildings.  The  sharp  outlines 
of  the  old  house  and  the  two  tall  chimneys  were,  how- 
ever, exactly  as  he  remembered  them. 

Turning,  he  could  just  see  the  houses  at  Bullock's 
Landing  on  the  other  side  of  the  river ;  and,  looking 
at  the  far-distant  cluster  of  wooden  hovels,  he  almost 


418  JACK  BALLISTER'S   FORTUNES  \ 

lived  over  again  the  circumstances  of  that  night  of  his 
escape  from  his  master. 

It  was  after  midday  when  the  brick  chimneys  of 
Marlborough  showed  in  the  distance  across  the  wide, 
bright  river  above  the  trees,  and  it  was  maybe  two  or 
three  o'clock  when  he  stepped  ashore  at  the  well-known 
landing-wharf. 

He  saw  that  there  was  quite  a  company  gathered  on 
the  lawn  in  front  of  the  house  as  he  walked  up  from  the 
landing  along  the  familiar  path.  And  how  familiar  it 
all  was  —  just  exactly  as  he  remembered  it,  only  now, 
to  his  riper  knowledge,  the  great  house  appeared  to 
have  shrunk  in  size,  and  to  have  become  more  bare 
and  angular  than  he  remembered  it  to  have  been. 
The  company  upon  the  lawn  had  turned  their  faces 
toward  him  as  he  came.  They  e\ddently  had  not  seen 
the  approach  of  the  schooner.  He  saw  Colonel  Parker 
at  once  and  Madam  Parker,  but  he  did  not  see  Nelly 
Parker  until  she  arose  from  among  the  others  as  he 
drew  near.  She  had  changed  very  little,  except  that  her 
slender,  girlish  figure  had  rounded  out  into  the  greater 
fullness  of  womanhood.  Jack  was  looking  straight  at 
her,  but  he  had  seen  that  Harry  Oliver  was  there  also. 

"  Papa !  —  mamma ! "  she  cried  out,  "  t'  is  Jack ! " 
And  then  she  ran  to  meet  him,  reaching  out  her  hands 
and  grasping  both  of  his.  Then,  in  an  instant,  aU  was 
a  general  disturbance  of  voices  and  of  coming  forward. 
Colonel  Parker  wi^ung  Jack's  hand  again  and  again,  and 
Madam  Parker  almost  cried,  giving  him,  not  her  hand, 
but  her  cheek  to  kiss. 

"  I  hope  Mr.  Ballister  will  remember  me,"  said  Harry 
Oliver. 

"  Indeed,  yes,"  said  Jack,  "  I  'm  not  likely  to  forget 
you,"  and  he  took  the  hand  that  was  offered. 

He  saw  in  the  brief  moment  of  hand-shaking  that 
Oliver  had  not  improved  in  his  appearance.    His  face 


THE   KETUEN  419 

had  begun  to  show  a  white,  puffy  look,  as  though  of  dis- 
sipation, and  there  was  a  certain  looseness  about  his 
dress  that  Jack  had  not  remembered.  In  his  memory 
he  had  an  image  of  Harry  Oliver  as  of  a  perfectly  fine 
gentleman,  and  he  wondered  passively  whether  the 
change  that  he  now  beheld  was  in  the  other  or  in 
himself. 

That  night  was  full  of  a  singular  redundancy  of  hap- 
piness— one  of  those  periods  of  peUucid  contentment 
which  lies  in  after  times  so  sweet  a  center  in  the  mem- 
ory of  other  things.  The  room  he  occupied  was  the 
very  one  that  had  been  his  before  he  went  away  to 
England;  and  as  he  lay  there  in  the  warm,  mellow 
darkness,  wide  awake,  listening  to  the  myriad  sounds 
of  night  that  came  in  through  the  open  window,  and 
as  he  thought  of  Eleanor  Parker,  and  that  he  was  now 
again  with  her,  to  see  her  and  to  be  near  her  for  a 
month,  he  seemed  to  be  wrapped  all  about  with  a  balm 
of  the  perfect  joy  of  peacefuluess. 

That  month  was  the  happiest  of  all  his  life,  for  in  it 
Nelly  Parker  promised  to  be  his  wife.  It  had  merged 
into  lovely  early  autumn  weather,  and  the  katydids  were 
in  full  song,  and  in  the  happy  after-memories  of  those 
four  blissful  weeks,  the  note  of  the  little  green  singing 
things  was  always  present  in  recollections  of  mellow 
evenings  when  he  and  she  would  sit  out  in  front  of  the 
house,  listening  to  the  rasping  notes  answering  one 
another  from  the  black  clumps  of  foliage;  of  other 
times  when  he  would  lie  awake  in  his  room,  not  sleep- 
ing for  thinking  of  her,  his  heart  full  to  overflowing 
with  happiness,  and  that  same  rasping  iteration  sound- 
ing ceaselessly  here  —  there  —  louder  —  more  distant, 
in  through  the  open  window.  Never  afterward  did  he 
hear  the  katydids  singing  at  night  without  a  recurrent 
echoing  vibration  of  happiness  flowing  into  his  heart. 
For  so,  year  by  year,  as  the  seasons  come,  do  such  little 


420  JACK  BALLISTEK'S  FORTUNES 

tilings  of  the  heavenly  Father's  beautiful  world  of  nature 
bring  back  to  the  soul  an  echo  of  some  part  of  that 
divine  hymn  that  has  been  sung, —  of  joy,  of  tender 
sorrow,  of  bliss  fulfilled,  of  grief  that  is  past, —  a  sound, 
a  touch  from  out  the  past,  setting  the  finely-drawn 
heart-cords  to  quivering  and  ringing  with  an  answer- 
ing pang  of  passion  that  age  does  not  always  dull  — 
that  time  does  not  always  cause  to  become  stilled. 


mi _...;RO]ECT 


I 


Bookseller?  &  Stationers, 

■  1.  Union  Squar<.-, 

New  Yokh. 


1 


JACK    BALLIS 
FORTUNES 


% 


ST      I      JL4    £Zf 


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